Variety’s recent cover unveiling for its Actors on Actors issue featuring Ryan Murphy favorites Kim Kardashian and Chloë Sevigny has sparked a firestorm of controversy. The inclusion of 43-year-old reality star Kim Kardashian next to established thespians like Jodie Foster, Robert Downey Jr., and Naomi Watts seemed to ignite a collective outrage. Instagram comments were filled with indignation.
One user didn’t mince words: “The fact that ya’ll even used Kim K. tells us how desperate you are for clicks and how much disdain and disrespect you have for the craft. What an insult to the many trained, hardworking actors who DO THE REAL WORK! To say this is shameful is an understatement.”
Another user blasted: “Kim K is not an actor! She doesn’t belong in this space!” And one chimed in with: “Seriously zero credibility with Kim K. What a joke Variety.”
Despite the chaos, 49-year-old Chloë Sevigny, an actress known for her Oscar-nominated role in Boys Don’t Cry and a Golden Globe win for HBO’s Big Love, kept her response short and sweet. Reposting the Variety cover, she simply captioned it: “Always nice to be included. Thank you @variety.”
Her restrained reaction stood in stark contrast to the boiling cauldron of internet fury. But even her minimalist acknowledgment couldn’t quell the storm brewing among the masses.
Kim Kardashian’s rise to fame is the stuff of Hollywood legend—or infamy, depending on whom you ask. She burst onto the scene with a 41-minute sex tape titled Kim Kardashian, Superstar in 2007, just months before her E! Network reality show, Keeping Up with the Kardashians, premiered. This catapulted her into the public eye, albeit under controversial circumstances.
Kim’s transition from reality TV star to aspiring actress has been nothing short of meteoric. Initially, she pursued a legal career, inspired by her late father, Robert Kardashian. After passing the “baby bar” exam in 2021 on her fourth attempt, she aimed to pass the California State Bar by 2023 without attending college or law school.
Yet, her legal aspirations seem to have taken a backseat. Kim’s new venture involves playing LA’s “most successful divorce lawyer” in a Hulu scripted legal drama penned by Brothers & Sisters creator Jon Robin Baitz. The irony isn’t lost on anyone, considering her own thrice-divorced status.
Despite the criticism, Kim Kardashian has built a resume that includes voice roles in PAW Patrol: The Movie and PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie, as well as appearances in Tyler Perry’s Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor, Drop Dead Diva, CSI: NY, Deep in the Valley, Beyond the Break, and Disaster Movie. She’s even played herself in Ocean’s Eight, Alligator Boots, and episodes of 2 Broke Girls, American Dad!, 30 Rock, Last Man Standing, and Brothers.
The SKIMS owner continues to executive produce and star in the fifth season of The Kardashians, which airs Thursdays on Hulu. The show, a spin-off of Keeping Up with the Kardashians, has been a hit, winning Reality Show of the Year at the People’s Choice Awards and Best Docu-Reality Series at the 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards.
This controversy highlights a broader issue within Hollywood: the blurring lines between genuine talent and celebrity status. Kim Kardashian’s inclusion in a prestigious actors’ issue alongside seasoned professionals like Chloë Sevigny raises questions about the integrity of the entertainment industry. Is Hollywood so desperate for clicks and views that it will sacrifice its standards?
What do you think? Is Kim Kardashian’s inclusion in Variety’s Actors on Actors issue a bold move or a blatant insult to hardworking actors? Let us know in the comments below, and don’t forget to like and subscribe for more juicy celebrity gossip!
