Kim Kardashian's recent advice encouraging women in business to work harder is being blasted online by some who call the remarks insensitive and hypocritical.
In a Variety profile published this week, the Kardashian-Jenner women discussed making money, their reality TV legacy and their sprawling empire of lifestyle brands. One quote from the feature has social media users bristling, and the advice has turned into a meme.
"I have the best advice for women in business," Kardashian told Variety. "Get your f------ ass up and work. It seems like nobody wants to work these days."
She took offense over the public assumption that she's "famous for being famous" and attributed her family's success to its work ethic.
"We focus on the positive. We work our asses off. If that's what you think, then sorry. We just don't have the energy for that. We don't have to sing or dance or act; we get to live our lives — and hey, we made it. I don't know what to tell you."
Some Twitter users implied that Kardashian, who is an entrepreneur in her own right, doesn't actually work for her wealth.
Others were more offended by her words that seemed to imply that all women, including those with fewer economic advantages than her, just weren't working hard enough.
"Kim Kardashian telling women in business to get their asses up and work the day after International Womens Day has to be the biggest joke of the year," one Twitter user wrote.
"the question of whether Kim works hard is irrelevant," pop culture scholar and author Bolu Babalola wrote on Twitter. "jobs often require hard work to do them well, whatever they may be. it's the assumption that women in business seeking advice aren't doing that lol (which is what the question was.)"
Another Twitter user, Michelle Amor, described Kardashian's statement as "richsplaining," a portmanteau of "rich" and "explaining."
"When a person who hasn't experienced poverty gives you patronizing advice on how to get out of poverty," they tweeted.
A few people on Twitter shared job listings for unpaid internships at what appears to be a company run by the Kardashian-Jenner family, pointing out what they said was the hypocrisy of Kardashian's quote.
And on TikTok, audio of the Kardashians' interview has become the foundation for a meme format.
TikTok creators are lip-syncing to Kardashian's quote, joking about the vacation time they plan to take.
A representative for Kardashian did not respond to a request for comment.
