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Kim Kardashian isn’t holding back. On Monday, the SKIMS founder made a guest appearance on the Angie Martinez IRL podcast to discuss co-parenting with her ex-husband Kanye West, raising their four children, the Balenciaga controversy, her “get up and work” comments, and much, much more.
Martinez and Kardashian unpacked how The Kardashians star has been held responsible for West’s decisions and rhetoric. “I’ve felt a little bit of separation since I filed for divorce like two years ago, so I started to slowly feel that separation,” said Kardashian. “But, you know, I think that that will always follow me.”
Kardashian filed for divorce from West in February 2021 and the proceedings were just finalized in November 2022. The pair share daughter North, 9, son, Saint 6, daughter Chicago, 4, and son Psalm, 3, and the artist known as “Ye” owes $200,000 a month in child support.
“I definitely protected him,” she explained. “And I still will in the eyes of my kids – for my kids. So, in my home, my kids don’t know anything that goes on, on the outside world. I’ve managed to – I’m holding on by a thread – I know I’m so close to that not happening, but while it’s still that way, I will protect that to the end of the earth, as long as I can.”
Kardashian explained that being friends with her children’s teachers has given her an inside ear as to the goings on at school, and that other children have never mentioned their father’s name in headlines. The SKKN by Kim founder also said she monitors North’s TikTok account and the television when she knows West will be in the news.
“I had the best dad,” Kardashian said as her voice began to shake and was brought to tears. “Co-parenting is really f—ing hard.”
She continued, “But I had the best dad, and I had the best memories, and the greatest experience, and that’s all I want for my kids. As long as they can have that, that’s what I would want for them. So, if they don’t know things that are being said, or what’s happening in the world, why would I ever bring that energy to them. That’s really heavy, heavy grown-up sh– that they’re not ready to deal with. You know? And when they are, we’ll have those conversations and I’ll be so prepared. But, until then, I’ll do anything to keep their life as normal as possible.”
Kardashian added, “One day, my kids will thank me for not sitting here and bashing their dad when I could.”
“It’s not my place anymore to jump in. Sometimes, obviously, I have to, but then sometimes I’m like wait a minute,” Kardashian said. “I posted something in support of the Jewish community, or like, even with the Balenciaga thing.”
Kardashian is currently “re-evaluating” her relationship with luxury fashion house Balenciaga, after the brand released its latest holiday campaign featuring children posing with stuffed teddy bears clad in bondage.
Kardashian issued a statement on her Instagram Stories and reflected on the controversial advertisements. “I have been quiet for the past few days, not because I haven’t been disgusted and outraged by the recent Balenciaga campaigns, but because I wanted an opportunity to speak to their team to understand for myself how this could have happened,” she wrote. “As a mother of four, I have been shaken by the disturbing images. The safety of children must be held with the highest regard and any attempts to normalize child abuse of any kind should have no place in our society — period,” she wrote. “I appreciate Balenciaga’s removal of the campaigns and apology. In speaking with them, I believe they understand the seriousness of the issues and will take the necessary measures for this to never happen again.”
Kardashian continued, “As for my future with Balenciaga, I am currently re-evaluating my relationship with the brand, basing it off their willingness to accept accountability for something that should have never happened to begin with — and the actions I am expecting to see them take to protect children.”
The SKKN by Kim mogul has been a brand ambassador and collaborator with Balenciaga and its creative director Demna. The poster girl has starred in countless campaigns for the brand and is frequently spotted wearing the label in street style moments. Balenciaga cut ties with Kardashian’s ex, West, after the rapper made anti-Semitic and controversial remarks earlier this fall.’
She told Martinez, “Everyone was like, ‘Why aren’t you speaking out? Why aren’t you speaking out?’ And I’m like, ‘Wait, I’m not in this campaign, I don’t know what’s happening. Let me take a minute to like research this.’ And then as soon as I saw what everyone was seeing on the internet and the reality of the situation, I completely spoke out and gave my thoughts on child porn and completely denounced it. But, because I didn’t say, ‘F— you, Balenciaga. That’s it,’ people got mad at that, so it’s like, they’re mad if I don’t speak out. They’re mad if I do speak out and if I don’t cancel.”
Describing a ‘damned if you do, damned it you don’t moment,’ Kardashian expanded, “Obviously, there is absolutely no place, or an ounce to even play with anything with children. Like, any sexualization of children, there’s not an ounce of that should be in our brains and in our society—I get that. I couldn’t have made it more clear on, ‘This is horrifying,’ ‘This is disturbing,’ I mean, but unless they heard what they wanted to hear, like, ‘F— you, you’re canceled.’”
Opening up about taking in some of the criticism she receives and keeping an open mind, Kardashian explained that she took the note when received clutural appropriation backlash for SKIMS’ original name Kimono. “I’m so open to those suggestions,” said Kardashian. “I mean, like even when I was starting SKIMS. I didn’t realize that our name, that was Kimono, was going to be appropriating. And right away, it wasn’t even an option. Like, let’s change this. This is making a lot of noise, and I didn’t see it, and the whole team didn’t see it, and that happens sometimes. But let’s do the right thing. And we did. So, I’m open to that.”
In March of this year, Kardashian faced some ramifications following her interview with Variety alongside her mother Kris Jenner, and her sisters Kourtney and Khloé for a cover story, detailing the famous family’s move to Hulu.
When the reporter asks the reality stars, “What would be your advice for women in business?” After Khloé stresses the importance of hard work and having passion, Kim chimed in with her now infamous comment, “I have the best advice for women in business. Get your f***ing ass up and work. Success is never easy, so if you put in the work you will see results.”
Facing backlash for her advice due to her inherent privilege, Kardashian gave a little more context behind the comment.
“So, the context in that was that I had just been doing interviews for the last few weeks on people to work in my office and everyone had all of these, you know, ‘Well, I only want these hours, I want Fridays off, I don’t want to do this, I don’t want to do this, so I’ll only do this,’ Kardashian explained. “I was just like, I come from a time when we just grinded, and everyone that I’m super close with, that has built our businesses together, we would just kind of do anything, any job, like get it all together, even if it wasn’t our job.” Kardashian also explained that she comes from a “workaholic mindset.”
“I think I just came off of all of those interviews being like, ‘Damn, like no one wants to work,’ everyone has all of these previsions of what they wanted in their job and I just never would have gone into a job interview like that,” said Kardashian. “That was different for me than this younger generation.”
She went onto explain that the backlash made her realize that she has had far more opportunities than others and that there are plenty of people out there, willing to put in the work but have not been afforded the opportunity.
At the end of the day, Kardashian said, “No matter what phase, no matter what stage I’m at in my life, I’m never too above, or never too good to want to learn something new.” She added, “I never want to stop evolving, I never want to stop growing.”
