The Kardashians’ Surprisingly Honest Response To Being Told They ‘Have No Talent’ by Barbara Walters
The Kardashian family have become reality show icons since launching their series Keeping Up With the Kardashians in 2007. Mainly featuring the female family members including Kim, Khloe, Kourtney, Kylie, Kendall, and mom Kris, the show will be coming to an end in 2021.
With each Kardashian achieving superstar status and massive wealth, they have sometimes come under scrutiny for having any skills outside of being followed by a camera. News veteran Barbara Walters decided to tackle the subject head on when she interviewed the family in 2011.
Barbara Walters’ picks for her 2011 Top 10 list
Walters is known for her in-depth television interviews of political figures, industry titans, and the hottest celebrities. Compiling a list for one of her trademark television specials Barbara Walters Presents: The 10 Most Fascinating People of 2011, the iconic journalist sat down with some of the year’s headline-makers.
Selecting Simon Cowell, Herman Cain, Katy Perry, Donald Trump, Pippa Middleton, Amanda Knox, Derek Jeter, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, and Eric Stonestreet for her top 10, Walters named Steve Jobs for the number one spot despite his death earlier that year.
The entire Kardashian crew also took residence on Walters’ coveted 2011 roundup, which led to a very direct interview conducted by the renowned journalist.
The Kardashians are described as ‘endlessly self-replicating’
Kourtney, Khloe, Kim, and Kris sat down with Walters for her 2011 special. The segment led with a montage of scenes from Keeping Up With the Kardashians.
“The Kardashians are everywhere,” Walters explained over the clips. “Their empire endlessly self-replicating, with spinoff after spinoff. A strange mix of trashy sex, upscale excess, tabloid melodrama, and suburban family life.”
After some initial pleasantries, Walters got down to brass tacks and presented a statement rather than a question to the reality stars.
“You are all often described as ‘famous for being famous,'” Walters began, according to the Huffington Post. “You don’t really act, you don’t sing, you don’t dance. You don’t have any — forgive me — any talent.”
‘None of us think we have talents’
Khloe was the first to speak up, telling Walters, “But we’re still entertaining people.”
Kim interjected, explaining, “I think it’s more of a challenge for you to go on a reality show and get people to fall in love with you for being you. So there is definitely a lot more pressure, I think, to be famous for being ourselves.”
The conversation proceeded, with none of the KUWTK stars seeming to take offense to Walters’ comment. Khloe practically agreed with her assessment.
“None of us think we have talents,” Khloe remarked. “None of us think we can sing or act or dance.”
While Walters covered other salacious topics including Kim’s infamous sex tape, the reality family was apparently holding out on the journalist. When Walters appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman to promote her special, she revealed that the Kardashians had held back on some major scoops.
“They were the first ones we interviewed and we did them in September,” Walters told Letterman in 2011. “We said, ‘Anything going to happen?’ ‘No no no, you can do it now because nothing’s going to happen.’ Then Kim gets married. Then Kourtney gets pregnant, then Khloe’s moving to Dallas. You cannot trust the Kardashians.”
