Kim Kardashian may be a reality TV star on top of being the billionaire founder of beauty and clothing brands, but she, like so many other celebrities, also pulls in quite a bit of money just by being an influencer. With 331 million followers on Instagram alone, she holds a lot of power over fans who are willing to take her suggestions about how to spend their money. One of her partnerships, however, got her in some trouble with the federal government, resulting in The Kardashians star shelling out a $1.26 million settlement.
On October 3, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Kim Kardashian after she failed to disclose the payment she'd received for an Instagram post from June 2021 that promoted EthereumMax, a crypto asset security company, TVLine reports. According to the SEC:
[The order] finds that Kardashian failed to disclose that she was paid $250,000 to publish a post on her Instagram account about EMAX tokens, the crypto asset security being offered by EthereumMax. Kardashian’s post contained a link to the EthereumMax website, which provided instructions for potential investors to purchase EMAX tokens.
While the post reportedly did include the hashtag “#ad,” her failure to disclose the $250,000 payment violated federal securities laws, according to the SEC. Along with the fine — which includes the money she made from the promotion, as well as a $1 million penalty — the reality star agreed to cooperate with the SEC’s investigation, and will not promote any crypto asset securities for three years.
Kim Kardashian made no attempt to admit to any guilt, nor to deny any guilt, regarding the SEC’s findings. In a statement issued by her lawyer, the SKIMS owner said she wanted to put the situation behind her. The lawyer said (via CNBC):
Kardashian fully cooperated with the SEC from the very beginning and she remains willing to do whatever she can to assist the SEC in this matter. She wanted to get this matter behind her to avoid a protracted dispute. The agreement she reached with the SEC allows her to do that so that she can move forward with her many different business pursuits.
The famous family may be able to bring in a good bit of money for themselves and the companies they partner with, but having such an expansive media following also means the Kardashian-Jenners field a lot of criticism about their life choices. Kylie Jenner, for one, has been in the spotlight this year after bragging about her and boyfriend Travis Scott’s private jets, when critics pointed out their short flights were harming the environment. Kim and Kourtney Kardashian, meanwhile, were both among celebrities who were cited for exceeding their water budgets by hundreds of thousands of gallons this summer amid a drought emergency.
With this settlement, at least this is one situation Kim Kardashian can put behind her. You can keep up with all things Kardashian and Jenner by catching new episodes of The Kardashians Season 2 on Thursdays with a Hulu subscription. Also be sure to check out our 2022 TV schedule to keep up with all of the upcoming fall premieres on cable and streaming.
