Kim Kardashian Apologizes for 'Work Hard' Advice

'Get your f---ing ass up and work' was taken out of context, she says
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 11, 2022 6:27 AM CST
Updated Mar 28, 2022 3:18 PM CDT
Kim Kardashian's Business Advice to Women Sparks Backlash
Kim Kardashian is seen at the Langham Huntington, Pasadena on Jan. 18, 2020, in Pasadena, Calif.   (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP, File)

Update: Kim Kardashian says the controversial remarks she made earlier this month about working women were taken out of context. In a Good Morning America interview, Kardashian says the advice to "get your f---ing ass up and work" was not meant to be a a "blanket statement" and she's sorry if any women felt they were being disrespected, ABC reports. She says it took a lot of hard work to get where she is and she was annoyed by a remark earlier in the Variety interview about being "famous for being famous." "Having a social media presence and being on a reality show does not mean overnight success, and you have to really work hard to get there," she says. Our original story from March 10 follows:

Kim Kardashian recently sat down for an interview with Variety—along with mom Kris Jenner and sisters Khloe and Kourtney Kardashian—to dish about upcoming Hulu show The Kardashians and dispense business guidance to "young women in the working world." But one nugget of wisdom offered up by Kim K is now spurring backlash, including from other celebrities: "Get your f---ing ass up and work," she said, adding "it seems like nobody wants to work these days." She also noted, to an audience that may not have much control over their work surroundings: "Have a good work environment where everyone loves what they do, because you have one life. No toxic work environments."

Kardashian likely thought she was being helpful and inspiring, in a tough-love kind of way, but others definitely didn't agree, especially considering the billionaire got a pretty good head start in life as the privileged daughter of the late Robert Kardashian of OJ Simpson "Dream Team" fame in Beverly Hills, per BuzzFeed. "Tone deaf at best, offensive at worst," one commenter noted, though they did concede that "the Kardashians work hard, and Kim seems to have the most hustle of the bunch." Others pointed out that work ethic doesn't always guarantee success for regular, nonbillionaire people. "All anybody does is work and it's killing us," wrote another.

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Other takes were similarly harsh. Some big names were also rubbed the wrong way by Kardashian's comments, which Variety also released as a short clip that went viral. "Not the day after [International Women's Day]," Jameela Jamil, star of The Good Place and a "longtime critic of the Kardashians and their influence on pop culture," eye-rolled on Instagram, per the Los Angeles Times. Jamil added on Twitter: "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." Trevor Noah of The Daily Show served up his own head shake. "It’s true that Kim Kardashian works hard," he said. "But you know who else works hard? Most women." Watch his thoughts in their entirety here. (More Kim Kardashian stories.)

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