OPINION
Deep breaths, everyone.
Kim Kardashian, a billionaire reality TV star, daughter of wealthy people, born already set to inherit a fortune, thinks women, in general, just don't work hard enough.
"I have the best advice for women in business: get your f***ing a** up and work. It seems like nobody wants to work these days," she said in an interview with Variety.
The quotes made headlines when the world marks International Women's Day all while going into the third year of the Covid-19 pandemic, during which women have taken on a disproportionate amount of the childcare (three times more than men) and whose jobs were, globally, 19 per cent more at risk than men's. According to analysis by McKinsey & Company, women make up 39 per cent of global employment but account for 54 per cent of overall job losses in the pandemic.
Despite all this, Kardashian, who charges nearly $1 million per Instagram post, thinks women can be successful like her if they get off their - and I quote - "f***ing a** and work".
Kardashian, channelling UK influencer and reality TV star Molly Mae, who a few weeks ago told everyone we all have the same number of hours in the day, continued: "You have to surround yourself with people that want to work. Have a good work environment where everyone loves what they do, because you have one life. No toxic work environments."
I take great personal offence because I have been known to defend Kardashian's right to be "famous for being famous" as just as legitimate a career choice as any (it's a strategy that works for many royals too) and I've sent nothing but positive vibes after she kept failing her baby bar exam. Now she goes and does this.
When Variety asked her about the notion of being famous just for the sake of being famous, she replied: "Who gives a f***. We focus on the positive".
"We work our a**** off. If that's what you think, then sorry. We just don't have the energy for that. We don't have to sing or dance or act; we get to live our lives - and hey, we made it. I don't know what to tell you," she adds - that last bit probably being the most insightful of all her quotes.
"With all respect, and with love, I'm not, like, being a b****," she said, which is almost verbatim what I say every time I'm about to say something bitchy.
Kimberly, no. I don't doubt that your days are busy and that you work hard but you cannot underestimate the difference it makes to have millions in the bank and a roster full of people to help you do things.
In fact, speaking of your staff, remember how last year seven staff members sued you, claiming they were underpaid and not given breaks? Gosh, if only they'd been born rich, right?
For a reality TV star, Kardashian could do with a dose of reality. As most people who have worked very hard all their lives can tell you, hard work doesn't often, in fact, lead to financial, or sometimes indeed professional, success.
Being born rich, though... now that helps.