Wednesday 20 June 2012

Oprah confronts Kim K about her career and the sex tape

Oprah Winfrey is no shrinking violet when it comes to interviewing celebrities, and she was typically fearless Sunday confronting Kim Kardashian about the origins of her fame. In an interview with Kardashian on Sunday’s “Oprah’s Next Chapter,” Winfrey asked the gossip magnet, “would you be where you are without the sex tape?”

“I’m not naïve to that fact,” Kardashian said after a long pause. “That’s pretty much how I was introduced to the world. It was a negative way, so I felt like I really had to work ten times harder to get people to see the real me.”
Winfrey grilled Kardashian about many of her personal experiences, including her 72-day marriage to basketball playerKris Humphries. When asked whether she was grateful for the experience – or at least what she learned from it -- Kardashian indicated that the tape would be her “one regret.”
“I felt humiliated -- why would anyone put that humiliation on their family like that?” she asked. “I’m definitely not grateful for that experience. I would say if I had one regret, that would be it. If I were to do it again, obviously I wouldn’t do it again.”
Watch a clip from Winfrey’s interview with Kardashian below. Part One of Oprah’s interview with the Kardashian clan ran on Sunday's episode of "Oprah's Next Chapter," and the remainder will be broadcast next Sunday, June 24.

Kim Kardashian tells Oprah Kris Jenner put her on birth control aged fourteen


One may have thought there was nothing left to learn about the Kardashians.
But reality TV star Kim, 31, did manage to hold back one choice piece of information for her in-depth interview with chat show host Oprah Winfrey.
In a stunning revelation, she disclosed that her mother Kris Jenner agreed to put her on birth control at the tender age of 14.
Kim told Oprah in the first of a two-part interview on Oprah’s Next Chapter she was ‘almost 15′ when her mother, now 56, agreed to put her on birth control.
Revelation: Oprah Winfrey gave Kim Kardashian an easy ride as expected, but Kim did reveal that she was just aged fourteen when she went on birth control - which was agreed by her mother
Revelation: Oprah Winfrey gave Kim Kardashian an easy ride as expected, but Kim did reveal that she was just aged fourteen when she went on birth control - which was agreed by her mother
Revelation: Oprah Winfrey gave Kim Kardashian an easy ride as expected, but Kim did reveal that she was just aged fourteen when she went on birth control – which was agreed by her mother
Reflective: Speaking of her success, Kim admitted that the sex tape played a big part in her fame
Reflective: Speaking of her success, Kim admitted that the sex tape played a  big part in her fame
Opening up: Kim is usually rather coy, but was forthcoming when Oprah probed her
Opening up: Kim is usually rather coy, but was forthcoming when Oprah probed her
Opening up: Kim is usually rather coy, but was forthcoming when Oprah probed her about Kris Humphries
She explained that the decision, a bold move back then – and still now, came as a result of her desire to lose her virginity to her boyfriend of two years.
Kim said: ‘When I did want to have sex the first time I was almost 15′, adding her liberal mom was open to discussion about the topic, and even got her on birth control.
She continued: ‘I was like, “I think I’m going to, or I want to,” and she was like, “OK, so this is what we’re gonna do, we’re gonna put you on birth control,” and she was like, really open and honest with me.’
Precocious: Kim told her mother Kris aged nearly 15 she planned to lose her virginity to her boyfriend of two years
Precocious: Kim told her mother Kris aged nearly 15 she planned to lose her virginity to her boyfriend of two years
The revelation came as a surprise to the veteran broadcaster Oprah, who failed to follow up the question with little more than a ‘wow’ before moving onto the next question.
Kim’s sexual past featured heavily in the interview – as the question of Kim’s notoriety loomed.
Five years since her sex tape with ex-boyfriend Ray J was released, the reality star says she understands the impact it’s had on her career.
‘Would you be where you are had there not been a sex tape?’ Oprah asked Kim. And she was forced to admit: ‘You know, I think that’s how I was definitely introduced to the world.’
‘It was a negative way, so I felt like I really had to work ten times harder to get people to see the real me.’
The sex tape was the focus of a lawsuit which she finally settled with Vivid Entertainment for a reported $ 5million figure.
Dispelling the rumour she released the tape herself, Kim said she’s always been concerned about ‘humiliating the family’ mom Kris, stepfather Bruce Jenner, 62, sisters Kourtney, 33, Khloé, 27, Kendall, 16, Kylie, 14, and brother Rob, 25.
The day the tape was was a ‘really bad day’ mom Kris recalled. ‘No mother ever wants to hear something like that… I could tell she was in a lot of pain.’
During the hour long interview, Kim denied her marriage to Kris Humphries was a hoax, saying she was left utterly depressed afterwards and that her fanbase was strong enough without having to stage drama for ratings.
She stressed that she still has a ‘place in my heart’ for her former basketball player beau, yet after moving in together it dawned on her that married life was ‘not for me’.
Kim, who never mentioned Kris by name during the chat, claimed the pair had never spent enough time alone before their 72-day matrimony for her to recognise his negative traits.
Speaking to the talk show host, Kim said: ‘I was in love, I wanted the life that I always pictured my fairytale life to be.
‘I would’ve had an extravagant wedding anyway, to end that relationship was a risk in itself to lose ratings and I had to take the risk to be honest to myself.’Opening up: Kim opens up about her short-lived marriage to Kris Humphries
New love: Kim says one of the things that attracts her to new boyfriend Kanye West is the fact he is older than her
Kim’s men: She talked about her short-lived marriage to Kris Humphries (left) and why she was attracted to new boyfriend Kanye West (right)
She continued: ‘I think when people first meet, everything is great in the beginning, but I didn’t spend more than a whole week with my ex before we married.
‘When we moved in together, I saw how our relationship was… I don’t want to get into the small things, but once we moved in, I knew he was not the one.’
As Oprah quizzed her about the pre-wedding nerves, Kim said: ‘I didn’t have an inkling, but everyone around me did. The night before, mum said, “Do you want out?” She said, “You’re not yourself”.
‘But I said no, I got angry, I was thinking, “How dare you!”‘
Kim stressed that Kris did not do anything specifically wrong and denied that he hit her or lashed out.
‘He’s a good person,’ she said. ‘I will always have a place in my heart for him. It just wasn’t for me.’
While Kim admitted she was ‘bored’ in the romance, she didn’t attribute it as the reason for leaving.
She said: ‘You know in your heart. Mom was supportive, so I took that time off afterwards… I would rather have been beaten up in the media than live a life that wasn’t happy.
TV show: Kim Kardashian posted this image of herself and Oprah on Instagram
TV show: Kim Kardashian posted this image of herself and Oprah on Instagram
First time appearance: Oprah with the Kardashians and their spouses... the chat show host said she had to 'Kardashian Kram' ahead of the interview which will be screened Sunday
First time appearance: Oprah with the Kardashians and their spouses… the chat show host said she had to ‘Kardashian Kram’ ahead of the interview which will be screened Sunday
‘I was in such a deep depression I thought I was going to back away from everything. I stayed at home for almost four months and I’m a better person now, as heartbreaking as it was to go through.’
Kim added: ‘For anyone I hurt, I’m truly sorry, I don’t wish pain on anyone, but the person I am because of that crazy experience, I wouldn’t change it for the world.
‘I loved him, obviously it hurt him, and it hurt me too. It was embarrassing, I don’t want to call it a mistake, it was a lesson.’
The reality TV star wed the basketballer in a fairytale ceremony last August, but although their union broke down within three months.
Kim is now dating rapper Kanye West, 35, and said one of the things that attracts her to him is the fact he is older than her.
She added: ‘I always dated five years younger. My whole thing was completely different, and now I just love that I’m with someone that’s a couple years older than me.’
During the interview, Kim, who is of Armenian descent, says she is proud to represent Middle Eastern women in modern society.
When asked if she thinks the Kardashians’ reality TV show would be as successful if they weren’t pretty, she replied: ‘I don’t think it would’ve happened if we were all skinny pretty models.
‘I think it has to do with us, the curves, the dark hair – I think it was a combination.
‘I remember when the wave of Jennifer Lopez, Salma Hayek and these beautiful Hispanic women came into light, and I looked up to them and I loved them, but I was like, “Where are Middle Eastern women?” I think we took that category or helped broaden that.’

Kim Kardashian sums up everything that is wrong with society, headmistress says


Dr Helen Wright, headmistress of St Mary’s Calne, a girls boarding school in Wiltshire, will tell an education conference this week that the US reality TV star is part of a culture which sexualises women at an early age.
This culture, which is rife on TV, the internet and in magazines, sends the message that physical appearance is more important than character, according to Dr Wright.
Left: Kim Kardashian. Right: Dr Helen Wright © Rex/PA
She will say: “I have spoken out a lot over the last two years about the increasing dangers of premature sexualisation of young people, and the objectification of women which accompanies this.


“It is not too strong a statement, I venture to suggest, to say that almost everything that is wrong with Western society today can be summed up in that one symbolic photo of Miss Kim Kardashian on the front of Zoo magazine.

“The descent of Western civilisation can practically be read into every curve (of which, you will note, there are indeed many). Officially the hottest woman in the world? Really? Is this what we want our young people to aim for? Is this what success should mean to them?” Dr Wright will say.

She will claim that Ms Kardashian is famous for "the reality TV series, Keeping Up With The Kardashians, for hanging out with the rich and famous, for a sex tape, a 72-day marriage and a rather ample backside”.

"What is she telling our young people about life? As a society, we have clearly attached a value to her, and there may be some messages about hard work buried in there somewhere - I expect she has to slave in the gym to keep that posterior in shape - but these are very hidden messages, buried under the other messages surrounded by glitz and sparkle," Dr Wright will say.

Ms Kardashian, whose father is the late Robert Kardashian, one of the defence lawyers in OJ Simpson’s 1995 murder trial, shot to prominence when an erotic film of her appeared online in 2007. She has since gone on to become a household name on both sides of the Atlantic.

However people’s obsession with celebrities such as Ms Kardashian means that pupils are “soaking up a diet of empty celebrity and superficiality”, Dr Wright will say.
She will be speaking at the Institute of Development Professionals in Education (IDPE) conference later this week.

Sunday 17 June 2012

Rodney King Found Dead In His Swimming Pool


The man whose videotaped beating by police officers led to the 1992 Los Angeles riots has been found dead in his swimming pool.
Rodney King was surrounded and beaten by police officers in the city on March 3, 1991. The incident was caught on camera.
Four officers involved in the incident were acquitted of using excessive force the following year, and the verdict sparked riots which left more than 50 people dead.
Rialto Police captain Randy Deanda said King was found "unresponsive" at the bottom of his pool on Sunday morning.
Police said there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding King's death, and an investigation will now be opened.
King suffered brain damage during the police beating, and successfully sued the City of Los Angeles for £2.5m.
Speaking ahead of this year's 20th anniversary of the riots, King said racism still has to be challenged.
"There's always gonna be some type of racism. But it's up to us as individuals in this country to look back and see all the accomplishments that we have gotten to this far."
Asked about his feelings toward the police officers who beat him, he said: "I have forgiven, because America has forgiven me for so many things and given me so many chances.
"You get to have a second chance, and I've been given a second chance," said King, who has had a number of brushes with the law since 1992.
"I have much respect for (the police), much respect... some of them went out of their way over the years to try to make it up to me. Not all of them is bad."

Kim Kardashian tells Oprah she’s proud of her Middle Eastern descent

Kim Kardashian opened up to Oprah Winfrey about her 72-day marriage to basketball player Kris Humphries, her current romance with singer Kanye West and said she was proud to represent Middle Eastern women in U.S. society.
Kim Kardashian (L), seen here with her mother Kris Jenner at a White House event earlier this year, has told talk show host Oprah that she is proud to represent Middle Eastern women. (Reuters) 
Oprah Winfrey sat with the reality TV family, the Kardashians, for an episode that is set to air in the U.S. on Sunday. 

When Oprah asked Kim if she thought her family’s reality show would have been successful if the girls hadn’t been pretty, she replied: “I don't think it would have happened if we were all skinny pretty models,” she is quoted in the Daily Mail as having said.  Reality star Kim Kardashian and her mother Kris Jenner visited Dubai in October 2011. (Reuters) 
“I think it has to do with us, the curves, the dark hair — I think it was a combination,” replied the 31-year-old Kardashian who is of Armenian descent. 

“I remember when the wave of Jennifer Lopez, Salma Hayek and these beautiful Hispanic women came into light, and I looked up to them and I loved them, but I was like, ‘Where are Middle Eastern women?’”
 
“I think we took that category or helped broaden that.”