Kim Kardashian West (Photo by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images)
Kim Kardashian is seeking a law degree to complement the work she’s been doing advocating for victims of America’s out of control mass incarceration is a far better reason to go into this profession than most law students have. “Because I flunked organic chemistry,” may be honest but hardly noble. Kardashian’s approaching the profession for all the right reasons.
Yet she still has detractors and in an upcoming interview with Vogue Arabia — previewed by Fox — Kardashian zeroes in on why people aren’t taking her seriously:
Although the star is in a good place with her lifestyle now, she admits that she was initially motivated by less-than-stellar goals.
“Money was always the goal but I was obsessed with fame, like, embarrassingly obsessed… I do agree that fame can be addictive,” she revealed.
The Kardashian brand was built upon a relentless drive for attention — a drive that relished frivolity — and that’s a double-edged sword for a grown-up trying to retool as a serious advocate for people in need. Still, the fact that the show still exists isn’t exactly helping. When Rogers Stevens switched gears to Biglaw, it’s not like he was still touring with Blind Melon every week. It’s not hard to grasp how people might question the serious motives of a law student when every week we have to hear them complain about invite screw-ups to a giant celebrity bash as if that’s the greatest travesty in the world.
That said, she can and does use her platform for her advocacy. In some ways her fame has locked her good intentions in golden handcuffs — she can walk away and be seen as someone who really eschewed fame to be a lawyer or she can keep showing the world the petty disputes that make for drama among the super rich so she can leverage that to raise awareness. That’s actually a tough spot to be in and she’s trying to navigate those waters while dealing with the pressure of the entire world following her bar exam scores.
But despite generally supporting Kardashian’s bid, there is one consistent criticism I’ve made throughout this process and this latest interview confirms that she still doesn’t quite get it:
“There is a misconception that I don’t actually have to study and that I’ve bought my way into getting a law degree – that’s absolutely not true,” she explained in an excerpt from the interview. “Being underestimated and over-delivering is my vibe.”
Ugh. How is this not reaching her? There may be some people clueless enough to think the California bar doesn’t require studying, but most criticism of her “buying” her law degree isn’t about buying her way out of her study obligations, but buying her way into the process at all. Not every prospective law student gets to find high-quality attorneys willing to take on an apprentice. But the rich and famous can. How many other mothers of 4 kids under 7 are tackling a law school load? With a schedule they more or less get to set around their other obligations? Pretty much just one and that’s because it’s a ridiculous burden that only her wealth allows her to pull off.
And that’s not necessarily a bad thing, but so long as she pushes back on this idea that her position in life is how she’s able to do this, it comes across as though she still isn’t grappling with the important socio-economic issues that underlie the whole practice she’s looking to go into.
Say stuff like, “I can have a client who was a dropout and ended up locked up because of the desperation they faced while I dropped out and got to come back with a law degree I studied for entirely on my own schedule — that’s a problem!” Or “Yeah, I’m able to do this because I’m swimming in money and it’s completely messed up that I needed to go to these lengths to help people.”
Anything but, “I’m studying hard.” We know the law is hard.
Earlier: Kim Kardashian Complains About ’14-Hour Day’ Proving She’s Totally Ready To Be A Lawyer
Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.