Kim Kardashian and co. recently did press recently ahead of the release of their new Hulu show, and some of the comments have drawn criticism. Kim, in particular, made unapologetic comments about how their family unit worked their butts off to get where they are and that women need to the same in business to achieve success such as her own. Critics online argue that the reality star’s “tone deaf” statements lacked consideration for poor/working class women. Now, the panelists over at The View have weighed in on the situation.
The group was somewhat divided on it all during the latest episode. The View’s Whoopi Goldberg – who just returned to the show after a two-week suspension for her own controversial views – reflected on a recurring point that Kim Kardashian got a major head start in life compared to the people she addressed with her comments. The co-host defended Kardashian, saying that everyone decided she would “be nothing” following her infamous 2007 sex tape and that it turned out to be not but a blanket statement which doesn’t work anymore.
The controversial remarks, however, reminded Joy Behar of Felicity Huffman and Lori Loughlin's college admissions scandal, implying how privilege often begets privilege, in other words. Behar noted that she herself was a “poor kid” who went to a “city school,” but she still saw hard-working women that didn’t exactly fit the reality TV star's version of success or her privileges. She said:
I’m making the point that a leg up is what you need in this world and not everybody – my mother worked so hard all her life. She was a sewing machine operator. That was it for her until she died, you know? So who worked harder than that? Nobody that I knew.
Another View co-star, Sunny Hostin, echoed Joy Behar’s sentiments. In her perspective, Kim Kardashian coming from a wealthy family with connections, along with having a pretty face, makes her unqualified to speak on behalf of regular people who struggle and aspire for more without those things. All in all, Hostin thinks the Keeping Up with the Kardashians alum came across as “very elitist.”
Season regular Sara Haines and guest co-host Stephanie Grisham would disagree, though. Haines offered that the SKIMS founder should’ve prefaced her viral comments with more context but ultimately, was “not wrong” in her original point about work ethic. The original point being that in an age of social media influencing – arguably created by the Kardashians – people think work is “easy” when it isn't. Likewise, guest commentator Grisham added:
I grew up with a single mom. I was home alone all the time, and I would watch somebody like Kim Kardashian and be inspired. So even if she was more privileged than the rest of us, she’s got quite a reach and she is getting that message out. It’s hard to take her seriously in that outfit when she said it, I will say that. But another thing, she was integral in prison reform in the last administration. She got women out of prison who deserved to get out of prison, so I think she has worked really hard and I say kudos to her for getting that message out.
This wouldn’t be the first time that folks are divided over Kim Kardashian. Her co-parenting troubles with ex Kanye West of late incited many online, including famous faces like Azealia Banks, to defend her, while others would react with condemnation. The most frequent criticism that both Kardashian and the rest of her family receive, though, concerns the heightened (and, some would argue, unrealistic) beauty standard they market to their fans.
Kim Kardashian has said in the past that she knows that the Internet and all its peoples blame her for “everything” – but that she’s going to keep trucking on regardless. Likely, the same will hold true concerning this work ethic controversy and what The View also thinks of her.
