Kardashians 2011: The Annoying Year in Review
It seems that bashing the Kardashians came into vogue this past year, with criticism of the E! reality stars flowing freely from all walks of life.
During an appearance onstage at the MTV Movie Awards, squeaky-clean Oscar-winning actress Reese Witherspoon was widely believed to be calling out Kim Kardashian -- as well as Paris Hilton and others -- for utilizing sex tapes and reality shows to catapult their celebrity status and careers. "I get it, girls, that it's cool to be a bad girl," Witherspoon told the crowd. "But it is possible to make it in Hollywood without doing a reality show. When I came up in this business, if you made a sex tape, you were embarrassed and you hid it under your bed."
FOX News shout-show host Bill O'Reilly blasted the Kardashians as an example of "all that's wrong with America" and for having "no talent," but still having the nerve to just "sit around and whine."
Criticism even emanated from the country's most famous residence, the White House, when First Lady Michelle Obama revealed that President Barack Obama didn't like it when his daughters were interested in watching the family's flagship drama fest, Keeping Up with the Kardashians.
Eventually, James Bond also jumped into the snowballing Kardashian fray. 007 star Daniel Craig made headlines after he was quoted in GQ magazine as saying: "Look at the Kardashians, they're worth millions. I don't think they were that badly off [financially] to begin with, but now look at them. You see that and you think, 'What, you mean all I have to do is behave like a f--king idiot on television and then you'll pay me millions?'"
So are the Kardashians getting a bad rap? Is the mounting criticism warranted despite the family's contributions to American (and international) pop culture? I for one believe this annoying locomotive can't be stopped fast enough. Indeed, it seems a crash is needed to stop this celebrity train wreck!
In 2011, the Kardashians pulled out all the stops in their aggressive campaign to grow the "family brand." And while some have suggested this reality dynasty is manipulating the media to further their fame and fortune, the truth is that most media is simply eating up every single Kardashian morsel and then spewing it out for their own ratings and profit.
Here are my top 10 reasons the Kardashians were annoying in 2011. But of course it doesn't stop here -- join in the conversation and share your opinion!
10 - Product Expansion - Move over Gucci and Armani! The Kardashians recently expanded their retail operations with just what the world needs, a "celebrity lifestyle boutique" -- called Kardashian Khaos (how Kute) -- at The Mirage in Las Vegas.
9 - Birthday Girl - Kendall Jenner drives away from her Sweet Sixteen birthday bash with what every 16-year-old wants and needs -- a new Range Rover!
8 - Birthday Boy - The birthday madness continued recently at a party for Mason, the two-year-old son of Kourtney Kardashian and her partner Scott Disick. The extravagant party for about 75 guests -- planned by Kim's wedding planner Sharon Sacks -- reportedly was an over-the-top Wild West-themed bash including haystacks, ponies, goats and pigs. Among Mason's luxurious gifts: a mini grand piano!
7 - Rob Kardashian goes on Dancing with the Stars - As if all the other public Kardashian happenings were not enough, Rob pushed his family visibility even further by appearing on this top-rated show -- at his mother's urging he said -- to strut his stuff with pro partner Cheryl Burke. He eventually danced his way into the final two.
6 - What's in a Name - In an episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians, Kris Jenner considers changing her last name back to Kardashian to be more consistent with that "family brand." Several of Kris' children understandably disagreed, arguing that the switch would be a rude slap in the face to her current husband of 20 years, Bruce Jenner.
5 - Reality Scripted - It seems there's no longer a need to pretend that anything on any of the Kardashian "reality shows" is spontaneous.
4 - Proposal - In May, Kim announced to the world that her NBA basketball star boyfriend Kris Humphries had proposed in a romantic moment at her Beverly Hills home. Kris was waiting in her bedroom on bended knee with four words written in red rose petals: "WILL YOU MARRY ME?" Kim said she was caught off guard and "in shock" over the proposal, which included a huge 20.5 carat Lorraine Schwartz engagement ring.
3 - Wedding Profits - While it was reported that the Kardashians made up to $20 million from the lavish ceremony, Kris Kardashian denied the claim and said Kim actually owed money for the over-the-top festivities. Kris did admit money was made from exclusive photos of the event, with People magazine paying a reported $2.5 million for the pics.
2 - Wedding - Referred to as the "Wedding of the Century" and "America's Royal Wedding," the world became subjected to hours of media saturation leading up to this star-studded TV extravaganza.
1 - Kim's Divorce - After just 72 days and apparently without any real attempts to work on the relationship or get counseling, Kim Kardashian decided to file for divorce from Humphries.
