‘I was just so blindsided by how angry people got’: Kim Kardashian reacts to backlash

Kim Kardashian reveals she was ‘blindsided’ by the immediate negative backlash from a Variety interview back in March, where she said the best advice for women in business was, ‘get your f***ing a** up and work.’

The 41-year-old Kim was being interviewed with her mother Kris Jenner, 66, and sisters Kourtney, 43, and Khloe, 38, for a Variety cover story timed to the first season of Hulu’s The Kardashians.

This week’s new episode of The Kardashians – entitled We’re Built For This – offers both a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the interview shoot and Kim’s reaction to the backlash when the interview was published. 

Blindsided: Kim Kardashian reveals she was ‘blindsided’ by the immediate negative backlash from a Variety interview back in March, where she said the best advice for women in business was, ‘get your f***ing a** up and work’

Kim, Kris, Khloe and Kourtney are seen arriving at a Variety photo shoot – where Kim’s infamous ‘work’ comments happened.

‘Today we’re shooting the cover of Variety, which is really exciting, and we’re doing it because our new show on Hulu is coming out,’ Kris says in confession, adding, ‘It’s gonna be a really great piece.’

‘My hip surgery is right around the corner, so this Variety shoot is a great distraction,’ she adds, as they’re seen getting ready.

Great: ‘Today we’re shooting the cover of Variety, which is really exciting, and we’re doing it because our new show on Hulu is coming out,’ Kris says in confession, adding, ‘It’s gonna be a really great piece’

They all meet Variety’s senior correspondent Elizabeth Wagmeister, who conducts the now-infamous interview.

Elizabeth asks what they have learned from each other about how to ‘be a good businesswoman.’

‘I think we’ve learned a lot from Kim, who kind of paved the way in showing us how to navigate social media,’ Kris says, while Kourtney adds Kris’ ‘thing’ is ‘never take no for an answer.’

Learned: ‘I think we’ve learned a lot from Kim, who kind of paved the way in showing us how to navigate social media,’ Kris says, while Kourtney adds Kris’ ‘thing’ is ‘never take no for an answer.

Khloe adds, ‘If someone’s telling you no you’re asking the wrong person,’ when Elizabeth asks what their advice would be for women in business.

‘You just have to do what you’re passionate about. It’s not easy, regardless of how it looks, and I think people see things because of social media that they think just comes easy to people, and it doesn’t, especially if you want something long-term. So you have to have that passion and that desire and that will feed you to keep going every single day, because if you love it, you’re always gonna wanna nurture it,’ Khloe says.

Kim goes off of Khloe’s answer and delivers her now-infamous quote: ‘I have the best advice for women in business – get your f***ing a** up and work. Success is never easy, so if you put in the work you will see results.’

Wrong person: Khloe adds, ‘If someone’s telling you no you’re asking the wrong person,’ when Elizabeth asks what their advice would be for women in business

Elizabeth also brings up what she thinks is the ‘ridiculous’ commentary about The Kardashians being famous for being famous, though Kris thinks that has, ‘changed a lot over the last few years.’

‘We focus on the positive, we work our a**ses off, and lucky us, we don’t have to sing, dance… we get to just live our lives… we made it,’ Kim says.

Kris adds in confession, ‘I don’t know why this question got started, about how much talent we have. Would they ask Jeff Bezos that? Can you dance, can you sing? Well, we have some amazing businesses that became super successful and we enjoy being as a family and working on those companies… and that’s our super power. Not too shabby.’

Question: Kris adds in confession, ‘I don’t know why this question got started, about how much talent we have

The interview wraps up as the photoshoot begins with everyone as they show a glimpse of the final Variety cover. 

Later in the episode, Kim and Khloe are .being driven around vehicles, as Kim gets a call from Kris, asking how she’s doing.

‘I don’t know, I’m assuming you saw all of the backlash on the Variety interview?’ Kim says

‘Yeah I just wanted to see where your head’s at right now,’ Kris responds.

‘I’m mortified. I don’t know what to do because I obviously… it’s all my fault.. because you know,’ Kim says, but Kris says, ‘It’s not your fault sweetie, people misunderstood where you were coming from.’

‘Thank you, I love you and I appreciate that,’ Kim tells Kris, as she adds in confession, ‘Just recently I got a lot of backlash from my Variety article.’

‘When I made that statement, it wasn’t a blanket statement towards all women, like as if I didn’t think women work hard or respect the work that they do because I see it every single day,’ Kim says in confession.

‘The most important people in my life that have shaped my life and shaped my career and helped me get to where I am today, all are women, so I hated that that got misunderstood and for that I’m so sorry,’ she added.

Back in the car, Kim tells Kris, ‘I mean, maybe I should make a statement and clarify what I meant before it gets worse,’ and Kris says, ‘Let’s sleep on it and decide if you want to respond.’

Back in the car, Khloe asks, ‘How do you feel.. you seem very tense, as Kim says, ‘I just feel like there is so much going on.

‘It never ends,’ Khloe says.

‘It never ends. Will it end?’ Kim asks.

‘No, it won’t end until… I don’t even want to say… until we end. It will never end babe, but guess what, we’re built for this,’ Khloe says.

‘I don’t know if I am any more,’ Kim says.

‘You are. Mind over matter, you got this. It’s all noise, none of it’s real,’ Khloe insists.

Towards the end of the episode, Kim and Khloe had lunch with Kendall, where they addressed the backlash again.

Lunch: Towards the end of the episode, Kim and Khloe had lunch with Kendall, where they addressed the backlash again

‘There’s been so much going on because of that variety interview. I said what I said about people working. Do I believe in that? Yes. I believe that you have to work hard in order to do that,’ Kim tells her sisters.

‘I was just so blindsided by how angry people got,’ Kim added.

‘But enough people were triggered so I want to be responsible and understand why people feel why people feel the way that they do… and I do understand that… that a lot of people weren’t given the same opportunities as us,’ Kim adds.

Blindsided: ‘I was just so blindsided by how angry people got,’ Kim added

‘Oh my gosh of course we’ve had crazy great opportunities… but also you did work,’ Khloe says, adding in confession, ‘No matter what her answer would have been, people would crucify her regardless because they’re always going to say well what do you know, you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth.’

‘But it’s frustrating when the world doesn’t want to see you for who you are and they want to always make whatever you say a personal attack – you don’t have empathy or compassion for other people. It’s the right message, the wrong messenger,’ Khloe says in confession.

Back at lunch, Kim adds, ‘I also feel like if people understood.. that like.. yeah we grew up privilege but people don’t know the story of your dad and mom having to sell their house in Hidden Hills because they couldn’t afford it and they had to move to an apartment.

‘And mom really started her career and making money at 50 – growing up and seeing her hustle, and seeing her getting up every day with all these kids, six of hers that she had to take care of. I saw her work her ass off and figure it out. Get her agents license, get her manager’s license to figure out how to represent your dad and that real inspired me to work,’ Kim says to Khloe and Kendall.

‘I think people would assume that I got everything handed to me being on a TV show but being on a reality show, let alone a reality show girl with a sex tape… does not open doors. I always felt like I had to work extra hard, and harder, to be taken seriously and for people to forget about my past,’ Kim says in confession.

Kendall adds, ‘It’s gotten completely out of control, all the false narratives that people believe in.

Narratives: Kendall adds, ‘It’s gotten completely out of control, all the false narratives that people believe in

A few weeks after interview sparked controversy, Kim appeared on Good Morning America in an interview with Robin Roberts, where she insisted her quote was taken out of context.

‘Well, that statement that I said was without questions and conversation around it. It became a sound bite really with no context. And that sound bite came off the notion and the question right before, which was after 20 years of being in the business you’re famous for being famous,’ Kim began.

‘And I … my whole tone and attitude changed with the previous question that went into that question about what advice would you give to women,’ she added.

‘You have to really work hard to get there, even if it might seem like it’s easy and that you can build a really successful business off of social media,’ she said. ‘And you can, if you put in a lot of hard work.’

‘It wasn’t a blanket statement towards women or to feel like I don’t respect the work or think that they don’t work hard. I know that they do. It was taken out of context, but I’m really sorry if it was received that way,’ she said.