Kim Kardashian has spoken out to defend herself against furious backlash over the controversial comments she made about women in business needing to ‘get their f***ing a** up and work’, insisting that her statement was ‘taken out of context’ and used as a ‘soundbite’.
The 41-year-old reality star addressed the scandal over her ‘tone deaf’ advice in an interview with Good Morning America’s Robin Roberts, which aired on Monday morning, just hours after the comments were mocked by Oscars hosts Wanda Sykes and Regina Hall during this year’s Academy Awards ceremony.
Billionaire Kim sparked outrage when she made the comments during an interview with Variety earlier this month; in a video shared by the publication, she was seen complaining that ‘it seems like nobody wants to work these days’, after saying her ‘best advice for women in business’ was: ‘Get your f***ing a** up and work.’
The so-called ‘advice’ was quickly lambasted on social media, where many users branded the mother-of-four ‘tone deaf’ and ‘out of touch’, pointing out that she has come from a life of wealth and privilege, and therefore might not be the best person to dole out advice to other women in business.
Kim Kardashian has spoken out to defend herself after sparking furious backlash with her ‘tone deaf’ advice to women in business, telling them they need to ‘get their a**es up and work’
Speaking to GMA’s Robin Roberts, Kim, 41, insisted that her comments had been ‘taken out of context’ and used as a ‘soundbite’
The billionaire reality star faced fury after complaining during an interview with Variety that ‘it seems like nobody wants to work these days’
Speaking to Roberts, 61, Kim insisted that her words were ‘taken out of context’, adding that she may have come across as more blunt than she had intended, because a previous question she was asked during the interview put her in a bad mood.
‘Well that statement that I said was without questions and conversations around it, and it became a soundbite really with no context,’ she explained, after Roberts pointed out how much ‘backlash’ her comments received.
Kim went on to share that she was asked to share her ‘advice’ for women shortly after being told by an interviewer that ‘after 20 years of being in the business, you’re famous for being famous’, which she admitted made her ‘whole tone and attitude change’.
‘I came off of the notion and the question right before, which was, “After 20 years of being in the business, you’re famous for being famous.” And my whole tone and attitude changed with the previous question that went into that question about what advice would you give to women,’ she said.
The reality star – who is due to return to screens in a new Hulu series documenting the lives of her and her famous family – further clarified her statement, insisting that she only ever meant to warn other women that fame and social media success does not automatically result in business achievements.
‘The advice that I would give is just that, having a social media presence and being on a reality show does not mean overnight success,’ she said.
‘You have to really work hard to get there, even if it might seem like it’s easy and that you can build a really successful business off social media.’
Her comments were mocked by Oscars hosts Regina Hall and Wanda Sykes during the Academy Awards on Sunday night
The two women were seen jokingly telling Dame Judi Dench to ‘work harder’ after she lost out on the Best Supporting Actress award to West Side Story star Ariana DeBose
If Kim was bothered by the mockery during the ceremony, she certainly didn’t let it show as she made an appearance at Vanity Fair’s Oscars party
She added that while ‘you can’ build a successful company off the back of social media, that only happens ‘if you put in a lot of hard work’.
While Kim insisted that her comments were taken out of context, she did offer up an apology to anyone who was offended by her advice, concluding: ‘It wasn’t a blanket statement towards women or to feel like I don’t respect their work or think that they don’t work hard. I know that they do.
‘It was taken out of context but I’m really sorry if it was received that way.’
The reality star – who owns two companies, beauty brand KKW Beauty and clothing company SKIMS – was bitterly trolled on social media after the interview clip was shared, with dozens of people hitting out at her ‘tone deaf’ comments.
One Twitter user, who claimed to have once worked for the Kardashian family, accused the reality star of hypocrisy, saying that she was ‘reprimanded’ during her time working for the Kardashian apps because she was doing freelance work on the side in order to make ends meet.
‘I was an editor on the Kardashian apps in 2015 in LA, worked days night & weekends, could only afford groceries from the 99 Cents Only Store, called out “sick” more than once bc I couldn’t put gas in my car to get to the office,’ she claimed.
‘[And I] was reprimanded for freelancing on the side.’
After Kim’s comments were shared, social media slammed her over her ‘tone deaf’ advice, with one person claiming to have worked for the reality star when she couldn’t afford gas
Jameela Jamil wrote on Twitter that ‘nobody needs to hear your thoughts on success/work ethic’ if you had well-off parents like Kim’s
Actress Jameela Jamil also blasted Kim on Twitter, noting that ‘99.9 per cent of the world’ grew up in very different circumstances to the reality star.
‘I think if you grew up in Beverly Hills with super successful parents in what was simply a smaller mansion… nobody needs to hear your thoughts on success/work ethic,’ Jameela wrote.
‘This same 24 hours in the day s**t is a nightmare. 99.9% of the world great up with a VERY different 24 hours.’
Kim’s comments on GMA were taken from a wider interview with her siblings and mother, which is due to air on the morning show next week, ahead of the release of their new Hulu show.
Hours before the clip was aired however, Kim’s controversial advice was once again dragged into the spotlight when Oscars hosts Wanda and Regina mocked the reality star in a tongue-in-cheek skin during Sunday night’s ceremony.
The presenters poked fun at Kim’s statements – seen by many as tone deaf – as they jokingly offered advice to Dame Judi Dench after she missed out on the Best Supporting Actress Award to Ariana DeBose.
Finding Judi, 87, in the audience, Regina said: ‘Dame Judi Dench… we have an inspirational quote for you.’
Comedian Wanda added: ‘You know because you didn’t win tonight.’
Regina continued: ‘A quote from Kim Kardashian… work harder.’
Kim’s sister Kourtney was in the audience when the joke was made as she attended the ceremony alongside her boyfriend Travis Barker who performed as part of the All Star band.
However, if the continued controversy over her advice took a toll on the reality star, she certainly didn’t let it show when she made an appearance at the Vanity Fair Oscars party on Sunday night, making an incredibly bold statement in a bright turquoise dress and silver sunglasses.
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