I’ve said it before, and I will say it again (because I love repeating myself and hearing myself talk): the Kardashians work hard. They have to. They’re everywhere, all the time, doing all the things. And that’s not easy. The week before last I had plans (“plans” = dinner and/or heart-to-hearts with my best friends after work) every night, and I eventually morphed into a pile of dust and missed two of my friends’ birthday parties this weekend because I was clinically dead. So, being “on” in the Kardashian sense of the word seems completely and utterly terrible.
And my best friend Oprah can attest to it.
In a recent piece for Kyle and Jackie O (a TV show in Australia), Queen O went on record saying she recognized the Kardashian-Jenner work ethic and respected it accordingly.
“I interviewed the Kardashians two years ago and I can’t believe how hard they work,” she said. “People don’t understand that; people think, ‘Oh, if a television camera’s just following you, then it’s easy.’ To really create a reality series that looks like something’s actually happening, it means you have to be on all the time. I went to film them as a family and I couldn’t believe how hard they worked. We were there for seven hours and they were gonna tape another seven hours after I left. No matter who you are, that’s hard work.”
And, like, duh. This revelation came on the heels of Rebel Wilson’s, who recently said that she “doesn’t hate any of them individually” but “everything they stand for is agains everything I stand for.”
“And they’re not famous for talent,” Wilson continued. “I worked really hard to get where I’ve gotten to.”
But lest we forget that the success of the Kardashian-Jenner family in no way reflects how hard any of us have or haven’t worked. The fact that the Kardashians are one of the most recognizable franchises in the world has nothing to do with our own successes. Actually, they have nothing to do with us at all. Our own achievements are completely separate than what we’ve seen Kim, Kylie, Kendall, and Ko. do. To compare ourselves with them is like me comparing myself to the achievement of, like, a baseball player. It’s like me seeing Josh Donaldson win Player’s Choice yesterday (congrats, by the way! let me know if you’re into this shout-out, guy?) and then saying that because my work consists of writing and making jokes and not being good at sports, I am better because I make essays and jokes, not third base plays.
If you think that makes zero sense, you are correct because that’s not how industries work — especially since Rebel Wilson and the Kardashians are in two entirely different fields. It’s not like the Kardashians are trying to be comedians. Kylie and Kendall aren’t at UCB or Second City right now performing on the mainstage. They’re not getting sitcom and movie deals, nor are they trying to. They’re doing them (modelling, attending events, wearing jeans), which is all anybody can ask ever. Work is work, and we’re not qualified to judge theirs.
So look. Nobody here has to like the Kardashians. You don’t have to watch the show or buy the books or like the Instagram photos or participate in Kardashian-Jenner culture in any way. But you do have to acknowledge that they hustle in a way that seems entirely overwhelming and emotionally draining. The idea of being “on” that much makes me want to curl up, draw a face on a volleyball, and declare him my only friend because yikes — and I’m a person who craves constant attention, thus explaining my career choice to begin with. As much as you may want to say it, the Kardashians get up and go to work.
And it’s 2015, years (and I mean years) after the premiere of their series, so we should know this. Meaning that hating on them is almost so outdated that it’s sad. They’re only everywhere if you choose to look, anyway. If you’re not down, scroll past the Kardashian story of the day and read more about actually anything else.
