As Jennifer Lawrence has recently made clear, we no longer live in an era where anyone (except celebrities, that is) can afford to be “neutral” about politics. It has colored every aspect of American life for centuries, and yet, for some reason, it took until 2016 for people to fully fathom how much it affects them (what black and brown folks know to be a benefit of white privilege: “picking and choosing” when to pay attention). Yet after that election year, families have been rent in two (J. Law’s included) over the likes of The Orange One. But some members never had the wherewithal to truly stand up and say, “I cannot associate with someone who thinks this way.”
The Republican side tends to view that kind of “extremism” as left-wing whining about someone not being able to see their “light,” but the truth is, the U.S. has gone so far beyond the mere classifications of “left” and “right” since the Trump era began. It’s now divided into “woke” censors and delusional conspiracy theorists. Still, the one thing that both sides of the fractured and totally ineffectual two-party system in America ought to be able to agree on is that, collectively, we’re fucked. One day, we’re going to wake up and see that all the forewarning headlines about climate change’s far-reaching, detrimental effects—from the doomsday glacier to widespread famine—will have come to fruition. All because neither side of the political spectrum felt enough sense of urgency to do anything truly drastic. Among such people is Kim Kardashian, who, as a celebrity, undeniably has more political clout than most politicians.
Most are aware by now that she’s long been known for her tone-deaf, “let them eat cake”-inspired sentiments (see: boasting about the Friesian horses North got for her birthday while much of the rest of the country was reeling from job loss whiplash, pretending things were “normal” by retreating to a private island during the height of the pandemic and telling the masses that they’re lazy and should get their “fuckin’ ass up and work”—as though having built-in wealth wasn’t a key part of Kardashian’s ability to feel motivated to make more money in the first place—for as the broke asses of the world will tell you, once you get in the cycle of poverty, you’re liable to feel stuck there forever no matter what you do). However, this latest sound bite might just top all the others in terms of how out of touch with reality the wealthy are.
And, of course, why would anyone want to be “in touch” (unless on the cover of that magazine) with the reality that, if you don’t have money, you’re certain to be among the first to become a casualty of climate change? Granted, it’s never been a secret that reality is subjective, especially when class comes into play in terms of how one’s day-to-day bubble is shaped. And for Kardashian and her ilk, even living in the direst of times doesn’t mean it’s going to infect “their” reality.
That much was made glaringly clear in yet another issue of Interview magazine wherein Kardashian was tapped for the cover. This time to embody the “American dream” (ass out as usual to back up her worth), as though such a thing ever really existed after capitalism reached its breaking point (sometime around, let’s say, the 2008 financial crisis). Interviewed by the magazine’s editor-in-chief, Mel Ottenberg, the entire affair was the usual garden-variety perineum-licking, including Ottenberg’s praise of Kim for decimating Marilyn Monroe’s dress at the Met Gala for the sake of her precious photo ops.
After all, she had rapidly dropped sixteen pounds to wear the piece of fashion history (only to still have an ass too plump to avoid breaking the seam the way she likes to believe she breaks the internet). To that, um, end, she stated to Ottenberg, “I really take care of myself. I work out, and I eat as plant-based as possible. I’m not perfect, but it’s a lifestyle.” Another aspect of that “lifestyle” being to ride around in private jets and violate California ordinances about water conservation during one of the worst droughts in the state’s history. But one supposes all of her transgressions can be accounted for in the simple blanket statement of: “I’m not perfect.”
Thing is, no one’s asking for “perfection,” they’re just asking her to act like slightly less of a classist cunt in an era where class warfare has never been more significant and prone to flare-ups. But evidently, when Kim got a taste of “high society,” as Ottenberg calls it, she didn’t want to go back. Just as, for the most part, once the Kardashians went Black (in skin tone and romantic interest choices), they’ve never really gone back. Regarding that, Kim freely admits that being with Kanye opened doors for her that otherwise might not have been—which is dangerous to declare when Ye is only too game to call out Kim for all manner of indiscretions right now (though the diarrhea one wasn’t actually his).
But Kim, despite being single again, seems to want nothing more than to “rise above it”—the Kanye drama, that is. “Focus on herself,” as it were. Even if that’s what she’s made a career out of doing. Except that now, it’s under the guise of helping others. Regardless of that meaning subjecting herself to a “photo op” with Donald Trump, which she did unabashedly in 2017 for the sake of freeing Alice Johnson (even though that could have been done quietly… or at least without mugging for the camera with a white supremacist).
In the present, she’s even managed to somehow circle back to herself when it comes to talking about Roe v. Wade, remarking, “If a court can decide what a woman does with her body, then it also puts having children through surrogacy, and things that I have been through, in jeopardy. I always believed people should live their lives exactly how they want to, so it’s really scary to see all of this happening.” Yes Kim, it’s really scary to know that people without money are subject to the many pratfalls of America’s fucked-up system, both the legal one and in general.
Her comments on climate change were even more narcissistic, responding when asked if she does anything to help combat it, “I believe in climate change, and I believe that anything can help. But I also believe in being realistic and I think sometimes there’s so much to worry about on this planet, and it can be really scary to live your life with anxiety. I have super climate change–involved friends, and I love learning from them. I do what I can, but you have to pick and choose what really works for you in your life.” If that entire reply didn’t make one’s head explode, nothing will.
Not only does her “method” for “helping” to “fight” climate change speak to the kind of “me first” thinking that applied to those who didn’t take the health of others into consideration when they defied mask mandates during coronavirus, but it also infers that, apparently, for Kim, “realism” involves twenty-minute jet rides and watering her pristine lawn/taking ample baths in the face of a drought. Like she said, it’s all about “picking and choosing.” Ottenberg, sycophant that he is, agreed, “Yeah” as Kim added, “No one’s going to be one hundred percent perfect.” Once more wielding that hyperbolic word no one is expecting. Only wanting something like common human decency in terms of being an excessive and superfluous drain on resources that also need to go to the many other people that inhabit this Earth.
Ottenberg seemed nonplussed by the gall of this puta as he quickly shifted topics to more important things: “So, back to fashion…” The other major climate killer. A “cause” that Kim naturally supports and feels invested in, especially for photoshoots like the Interview one. Of which Ottenberg commented, “I’m so psyched about the shoot. I mean, this is a hard time in the world. We have to be serious and aware of what’s going on, but we also have to fucking tear it up.” Of course you do. And as long as you’re aware the building is burning, there’s no need to actually do anything about it, even if you’re among the cabal with the most power to actually make a palpable difference. Problem is, celebrities like Kim only seem to want to do so in a manner that has damaging rather than positive effects on the proverbial proletariat, who, alas, cannot pick and choose. Stuck with whatever remnants the rich have “decided” (read: not put any thought into whatsoever) to leave them with by ignoring their needs and woes altogether.
