Kim Kardashian's life is explored in a new book chronicling her meteoric rise to fame.
asserted
life → explore → fame
In the new book, "Citizen Kim: The Woman Who Created the Future," writer Jonathan Van Meter dove deep into the lives of the Kardashians, particularly Kim, and how she built her empire outside of reality TV.
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she → create → TV
Through a series of interviews with members of the Kardashian family, including Kim, Khloe and Kourtney, as well as those close to the famous family, Van Meter discusses the biggest moments in her life, including her relationship with Kanye, the terrifying Paris robbery, her mother's affair and her prison reform and advocacy work.
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Meter → include → Kanye
In October 2017, Kim saw a video of Alice Marie Johnson in prison, in which she was pleading for clemency.
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she → see → clemency
She opened up in the book about how the video "changed my life," saying she immediately reached out to Shawn Holley, who was a lawyer on O.J. Simpson's defense team, asking "What can we do?"
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we → open → What
After learning the only way to get Johnson out of prison was a presidential pardon, Kim reached out to Ivanka Trump, who put her in touch with Jared Kushner.
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who → learn → Kushner
Kushner helped set up a meeting between Kardashian and President Trump, a move that raised concerns on both sides about the "optics," according to the book.
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that → set → book
"Everyone was telling me, ‘Don’t go, your career will be over; you can’t step foot in there.’
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you → tell → foot
And I was like, ‘It’s my reputation over someone’s life?’
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It → ’ → life
Weigh that out," Kim said in the book.
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Kim → weigh → book
"People talk s--t about me all day long.
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People → talk → me
It will just be another story about me versus someone getting their life back."
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It → get → life
A week after the meeting with President Trump, Kim was able to call Johnson and personally deliver the news that she had been granted clemency.
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she → call → clemency
"She started screaming on the phone.
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She → start → phone
I was on the set of a Steven Klein shoot, practically nude, so I had to cover with a robe and make this call and tell her," Kim said.
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Kim → have → her
"She packed her stuff—whatever she checked in with twenty two years prior—and was released immediately."
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she → pack → whatever
Oval Office meeting
Kim's experience advocating on behalf of Johnson was her first step on the path towards becoming a lawyer and furthering her advocacy work.
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experience → advocate → work
She met with President Trump again, this time on behalf of a man who received a life sentence for a nonviolent crime.
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who → meet → crime
This time, she was accompanied by attorney Van Jones, who said he will "never forget walking into the West Wing with her."
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he → accompany → her
While Jones felt as if "Every sentence I said made it worse," he recalled Kim and the president discussing the case, including Kardashian's response after Trump said, "This guy . . . let's just be honest now.
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's → feel → response
"Kim had memorized the case," Jones said in the book.
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Jones → memorize → book
"She knew everything about the person.
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She → know → person
She told the president, ‘You can be the big guy; you can help a sick man.’
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you → tell → man
It was like watching a ballerina hypnotize a grizzly bear . . . her syllable-to-impact ratio is off the charts.
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ratio → watch → charts
What she can get done in a simple sentence!"
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she → do → sentence
Jones argued in the book that while some may resent Kim because "she represents somebody who already has it all" and is now trying to also "be successful in my field," he says, "if you’re in jail, and you’re trying to get out, you’re not mad at Kim Kardashian.
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you → argue → Kardashian
"You have literally hundreds of thousands of people for whom the system is so broken that only when a Kim Kardashian steps in does she change the odds in their favor, even a little bit," he said.
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he → have → favor
"So you can be mad at Kim or you can be mad at the system that is so broken that it needs Kim."
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it → need → Kim
Kanye concerns
Kim married rapper Kanye West in May 2014 and welcomed four children together, before filing for divorce in February 2021.
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Kim → concern → February
Towards the end of their marriage, West began acting increasingly erratic as he dealt with ongoing mental health issues, and began speaking negatively about Kim and her family members.
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he → begin → Kim
Kim expressed in the past that this led her to not feel safe around him, emotionally and physically.
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her → express → him
Despite this, Kim told Van Meter she continues to "worry about him all day."
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she → tell → him
That’s the father of my kids, I’ll never not worry about him.
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I → ’ → him
And that’s a big burden of having kids with someone who you don’t necessarily get along with.
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you → ’ → who
My kids would never know that.
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kids → know → that
I do everything in my power to forget about all the negative things that happened," she said.
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she → do → things
"I have to be realistic, and my therapist definitely tells me, ‘Your boundaries have to go up,’ but we manage to coparent without too much conflict.
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we → have → conflict
I guess because we don’t talk that much.
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we → guess → ?
But when we see each other, we give each other a hug."
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we → see → hug
She added that she not only encourages her children to have a relationship with their father, but also with his family, noting that whenever his family members are in town, she will invite them over for dinner and to spend time with her kids.
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she → add → kids
…and 24 more, not listed.
The Aporia
