Kim Kardashian West talks about her critics, her family and why she posts naked selfies
Kim Kardashian West, wife, mother of two and reality TV and social media star, told an audience of hundreds at a downtown Los Angeles conference for bloggers, “I’m really private.”
Oh, sure, she’s serious. (Wink, wink.)
Kardashian West joked and appeared to be at ease as she took a break from tweeting and posting on her social media to be the keynote speaker at last week’s lunch during the #BlogHer16: Experts Among Us conference for female bloggers.
The conference was held at the JW Marriott hotel at L.A. Live in downtown Los Angeles on Aug. 5, and Kardashian West sat down for a chat with BlogHer co-founder Elisa Camahort Page to discuss her ultra-public life in an age when people post on social media about every aspect of their lives.
That social interaction is something Kardashian West knows about. Until she recently showed her son in posts, fans were concerned about Saint West, now 8 months old, and asked Kardashian West his whereabouts. Unlike his older sister, North, Saint West hadn’t been seen in Kardashian West’s posts in months.
“I’m really protective of my life with my kids,” she said.
To be clear, Kardashian West said that about 85% of her life is public, and that husband Kanye West — maybe you’ve heard of him — is a more private person than she is and has taught her to become more private, while she’s taught him to be more public.
That’s why you might catch a glimpse of the couple’s children on E!’s hit “Keeping Up With the Kardashians,” but story lines on the show don’t revolve around them, she said.
Long before Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat made it easy to share everything, Kardashian West knew she wanted to live a public life. When she was 13 and MTV’s reality hit “The Real World” was airing, she said she turned to her best friend and said, “Oh my gosh, that’s what I want to do. I want to be on a reality show.”
During her lunchtime chat, Kardashian West also touched on topics including critics, her body and why she doesn’t mind showing herself naked.
Just do whatever makes you feel comfortable and whatever makes you feel good inside and happy.
— Kim Kardashian West
Kardashian West said she used to care more about negative comments on social media, but now, in part because of her husband and two children, she has a thicker skin and doesn’t have time to worry about the hateful things people have to say about her.
Also, in response to criticism about her body — particularly her tendency to show it off publicly — Kardashian West said that she feels good about herself, especially after working to lose pregnancy weight. So posting a naked selfie might make her feel confident, she said. However, she doesn’t encourage others to follow in her footsteps unless being naked makes them feel confident as well.
“I do what makes me feel comfortable. … If you’re not comfortable, don’t do that,” Kardashian West said. “Just do whatever makes you feel comfortable and whatever makes you feel good inside and happy.”
Ultimately, Kardashian West said she isn’t bothered by people who underestimate her, her talent or business savvy.
“I think the easiest question to ask is, ‘What does she do? What is her talent?’” said Kardashian West, who has about 80 million Instagram followers and about 47 million Twitter followers.
To her credit, Kardashian West has a reality show and its spinoffs as well as other endeavors such as the mobile game called Kim Kardashian: Hollywood, her blog and Dash, the clothing store owned by Kardashian West and her sisters.
With her long list of business ventures, she said she definitely has a full-time job — one that allows outsiders to keep up with her and her family matters.
She put her work life into perspective for the bloggers at the conference.
“To me, it would be the same thing as people saying [to bloggers], ‘What do you do? You’re sitting at home at your apartment and you’re just on the computer,’” she said.
Twitter: @alexgoldennews
