In Defense of Kim Kardashian

I’m a grumpy girl. My grumpy friends and I rely heavily on sarcasm and judgmentalism in all our humor, especially when it comes to pop culture and its assorted icons. I bring all of that up to say that I’m not a natural Kardashian fan. To me, Kim Kardashian is still just a Paris Hilton hanger-on bestie who’s famous for an ill-advised, secretly photographed romp in the hay with Brandy's kid brother. She’s a pretty girl who has managed to take a moment of public sympathy and turn it into a highly-lucrative career. So what’s with this pop-culture pile-on? Hating on Kim Kardashian is as popular as grabbing a latte on the way into the office.

I’m not saying that Kim & Ko are without flaws. Perhaps the most annoying thing about Kim and her sister Kourtney in particular is the way they talk. It’s like. Ooh, my God. There’s like. Zeeroo inflection no matter what emotion they’re like. Trying to convey. I mean, like wow. Everything. Sounds like, exaaactly the same.

In addition to the irritating patterns of speech, they’re fame whores, to be sure. And their topics of conversation are a bit salty for my taste. But people watch their shows. People shop at their Dash Boutiques and buy the products they endorse. If those things weren’t true, we wouldn’t even know their names. Many people still don’t. I understand not being a fan of theirs. But I don’t get the venomous outrage that’s being spewed toward them. There’s a 100,000-signature-strong petition asking the E! Network to cancel Keeping Up With The Kardashians. Okay, first of all, who’s got the time to campaign against a stupid reality show? I mean, if you have that kind of time on your hands, there are a number of charitable causes I would love to direct your attention toward. Not to mention a number of other channels available with just a teensy click.

Several weeks ago, when Tyler Perry announced that Kim K was going to be starring in one of his upcoming movies, his core fan base collectively threw back their heads and howled. They demanded to know how Tyler could stoop so low as to cast that good-for-nothing, no-talent, non-acting chick in anything. Many of them even had the wherewithal to complain that Kim isn’t a good role model. Okay, have you seen a Tyler Perry movie? Who in any one of those movies is a good role model? Granted, it’s probably not ideal to cast Kim in a flick called “The Marriage Counselor” but hey—hindsight’s 20/20.

And that brings us to the worst part of it all. Is all this vitriol really rooted in Kim’s whirlwind wedding/marriage/divorce fiasco? Now y’all know that ain’t right. Kim, like most women staring down the business end of 30 years old, was in a rush down the aisle. Add to that a serious rebound from a long-term relationship with hottie Reggie Bush. Clearly, she had blinders on when she met her estranged hubby. She made a mistake. The same mistake many heart-broken women have made. I’d rather she figure it out and bail in 72 days than in seven years when she’s staring down the business of 40 and lugging around three kids whose parents don't get along. The key difference here is the money. Everybody’s mad because she made money on the whole affair. Well, if you’re one of the 10.5 million people who tuned in to watch, blame yo-own self.

While I didn’t tune in for the wedding special, I did watch Kourtney and Kim Take New York last night. I watched the whole hour-long snooze fest and I have a theory as to why Kardashian is so popular. I think it’s because at the end of the day, she's part of a close-knit family that loves each other. I think that’s what their fans envy more than the money and the lifestyle. It’s the same reality-show dynamic as The Osbournes and Run’s House. I mean, let's face it. Many of the young girls who are idolizing the Kardashian Klan don't have strong families in their corners. The Kardashian/Jenner family are each other’s best friends and they have each other’s backs. At the end of the day, Kim will be fine whether she has fans or not. Whether she’s divorced or not. And whether she has a show on the air or not. She’ll be fine because she’ll always have her family. We should all be so lucky.