President Barack Obama of the United States has criticized Kim Kardashian and her family, saying their reality TV shows have helped create a generation of youngsters who are obsessed with wealth and celebrity.
Obama singled out socialite Kim Kardashian and her rapper boyfriend Kanye West for particular criticism in an interview with Amazon.com during a visit to one of the company’s warehouses in Tennessee.
Obama bemoaned the rise of reality TV shows and insisted celebrities who parade their wealth in front of fans have inadvertently changed the aspirations of young people.
He said: “The American dream involved some pretty basic stuff — a good job where you felt some security, a good education … People felt if they worked hard they could get there … I don’t think people went around saying to themselves, ‘I need to have a 10,000-square-foot house’ … I think there has also been a shift in culture. We weren’t exposed to the things we didn’t have in the same way that kids these days are. There was not that window into the lifestyles of the rich and famous. Kids weren’t monitoring every day what Kim Kardashian was wearing or where Kanye West was going on vacation and thinking that somehow that was the mark of success.”
Kim Kardashian and her relatives have built up a reality TV empire over the last few years with “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” and their three spin-off series.
She also broadcast her much-hyped 2011 wedding to basketball player Kris Humphries as a small-screen special. As for West, it is not the first time Obama has clashed with the rapper.
In 2009, the President famously branded him a “jacka–” for storming the stage at the MTV Video Music Awards to protest Taylor Swift’s Best Female Artist win.
