Salon.com > Kim Kardashian

Kanye West performs new music, claims he is not a celebrity

Thu, 16 May 2013 16:27:00 +0000

Adult toddler and occasional hit music maker Kanye West threw another tantrum at his performance at the Roseland Ballroom Wednesday night, reports Complex.

The rapper, who will help end the last episode of "Saturday Night Live's" 38th season this weekend, insists that he's not a celebrity:

"One thing about me. I'm the worst kinda, worst kinda, worst kinda celebrity...because all I do is make real music. All I do is sit in the studio and make real, real shit. and that's it. That's motherfucking it. That's motherfucking it. So I don't want nobody trying to run up on me with no cameras, trying to sell pictures and shit to magazines, asking me no dumbass questions. throwing me off of my focus and shit. Harassing you all motherfucking day. I ain't no motherfucking celebrity..."

James Salter: “It’s hard to think of any other women on the spur of the moment here”

Mon, 13 May 2013 11:54:00 +0000

At 87, James Salter is having perhaps the best year of his career. His first novel in three decades, "All That Is," has brought rave reviews and even a New Yorker profile. It's heady, late-life success for a novelist mostly revered as a writer's writer for books like "Light Years" and "A Sport and a Pastime."

But this weekend on NPR's "All Things Considered," the latest stop on his celebratory media tour, Salter was asked by host Arun Rath about his women characters -- and he gave what might be as bizarre an answer as has any male writer these days, suddenly faced with direct questions about literature and gender that they might not have been asked before.

Here's the transcript:

Edith Wharton invented Kim Kardashian

Tue, 23 Apr 2013 22:21:00 +0000

One hundred years ago, in 1913, Edith Wharton wrote a novel called The Custom of the Country. The country is America; the custom is divorce. And the first line is: “‘Undine Spragg—how can you?’ her mother wailed.”

I imagine the question “How can you?” delivered with inflections of astonishment. In both her mother’s opinion, and her author’s, Undine gets away with things other people just can’t. Throughout the book Wharton questions Undine: How can you be so superficial? How can you be so self-involved? How can you be so heartless? How can you marry and divorce so easily?

Undine can, and does; in part because she is so beautiful. Wharton both condemns her character’s choices, and envies them. Not only is her heroine fiction, she is fantasy. Best-selling fantasy. Undine tapped into the desires of women across America. At that time fiction was serialized just as TV is today and the American audience was hooked. “Undine is making the press ring,” Wharton boasted. Note she did not say: “Custom is making the press ring!” Wharton recognized the novel is defined by its heroine.

Kim Kardashian is pregnant with Kanye West’s baby

Mon, 31 Dec 2012 14:56:00 +0000

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – A kid for Kimye: Kanye West and Kim Kardashian are expecting their first child.

The rapper announced at a concert Sunday night that his girlfriend is pregnant. He told the crowd of more than 5,000 at Revel Resort's Ovation Hall in song form: "Now you having my baby."

The crowd roared.

Most of the Kardashian clan tweeted about the news, including Kim's sisters and mother. Kourtney Kardashian wrote: "Another angel to welcome to our family. Overwhelmed with excitement!"

West also told concertgoers to congratulate his "baby mom" and that this was the "most amazing thing."

Representatives for West and Kardashian didn't immediately respond to emails about the pregnancy.

The rapper and reality TV star went public in March. Kardashian, 32, is about 12 weeks along, according to TMZ.

Kardashian married NBA player Kris Humphries in August 2011 and their divorce is not finalized.

West's Sunday night show was his third consecutive performance at Revel. He took the stage for nearly two hours, performing hits like "Good Life," "Jesus Walks" and "Clique" in an all-white ensemble with two band mates.

What we can learn from Kim Kardashian and Danny DeVito

Mon, 08 Oct 2012 20:17:00 +0000

In real life, the dreamy promise "till death do us part" tends to be a whole lot more fluid than it sounds. Just ask Kim Kardashian. Or Danny DeVito.

This week in news that proves the world has turned upside down, twice-divorced "hopeless romantic" Kim Kardashian is talking about what she'll do differently when she gets married "next time," while one of Hollywood's most enduring couples, Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman, have announced they're splitting up. Yup, go ahead and imagine a world where Kim Kardashian is getting married again and Danny DeVito is on the market. Because it's probably coming. Oh, yes, it's coming.

In the new issue of Tatler, Kardashian, who last year married Kris Humphries after knowing him eight months, broke up with him 72 days after her much-ballyhooed reality-television-event wedding, and is still not legally divorced, says, "When I look back at interviews I gave [about previous boyfriends] saying, 'We're talking about marriage, etc.,' it's embarrassing. And I really believed it at the time!"

Redefining the perfect woman

Tue, 25 Sep 2012 20:37:00 +0000

According to Los Angeles Magazine, 91 percent of all cosmetic procedures in the U.S. are performed on women. In L.A., this used to mean more big-busted, classic blonde pin-ups walking around--but that's changing. The current issue reports that "the demand for cosmetic procedures now crosses every ethnic group, altering the de rigueur body shape." In other words, Pamela Anderson might not be the ideal body type anymore.

A spread in the magazine outlines some of the common procedures, including breast augmentations and rhinoplasty:

Augmentation has been one of the most frequently requestesd cosmetic procedures in the country since 2006, but the preference in L.A., surgeons say, is a more natural looking breast size that balances an hourglass shape.

Rhinoplasty is one of the top five most popular cosmetic procedures in the United States. According to L.A. surgeons, the trend in Hispanic, Middle Eastern, and African American patients is to refine, not alter, overall shape.

As the entertainment industry has become more diverse, so have the trends in plastic surgery. But it's also true that this new image, a cross between Sofia Vergara, Angelina Jolie, and Kim Kardashian, is a hardly a less impossible standard --just a different one.

Stars come for fourth annual Fashion Night Out

Fri, 07 Sep 2012 19:58:00 +0000

NEW YORK (AP) — Donna Karan mingled with Miss Piggy, Michael Kors judged karaoke with Kate Upton and Kim Kardashian signed perfume sets Thursday as shoppers broke out their stilettos — and their wallets — for the fourth annual Fashion's Night Out.

The celebrity-studded night lured shoppers into stores for celebrity spotting, music, giveaways, food and drinks, and, just maybe, shopping.

By early evening in New York, the basement beauty floor of Bergdorf Goodman was packed. Madeleine Russell of Manhattan, wearing her FNO shirt from last year, got her nails done ahead of a long line. She attends Fashion's Night Out events every year.

"I'm inspired by all the fashion around me and I get my own ideas," she said.

Like the FNO pro she is, Russell planned to head home from Bergdorf to put on makeup and her Manolo Blahniks to see Cyndi Lauper at the Blahnik store promoting her new musical, "Kinky Boots."

Across town, Kim Kardashian signed $123 gift sets of her perfume True Reflection at Lord & Taylor and was ready to hop a plane to Charlotte, N.C., for an after party for the Democratic National Convention.

"Because it is a lot of running around I wanted to be comfortable," she said. "This Tom Ford dress is, like, stretchy. So at least I'm really comfortable."

Kim Kardashian and Old Navy settle lawsuit

Wed, 29 Aug 2012 19:16:00 +0000

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kim Kardashian has settled a lawsuit against Old Navy claiming the clothing retailer violated her publicity rights by using a lookalike in an ad.

Kardashian sued over the spot in July 2011, claiming the company's use of a model who looked like her might confuse consumers about her actual endorsements, which include a clothing store and shoe line.

No details about the settlement were filed with the court.

"The lawsuit was resolved to the mutual satisfaction of the parties," said the reality TV starlet's attorney Gary Hecker, who declined to elaborate.

A spokesperson for Old Navy parent company The Gap Inc. was not immediately available.

The lawsuit was over the commercial titled "Super C-U-T-E." The ad began airing in February 2011 and was still being used in some of the company's promotions months later, Kardashian's lawsuit stated.

Dumb tweet of the day

Mon, 06 Aug 2012 22:02:00 +0000

Years from now girls are probably going to be lookin up to Kim Kardashian the way some of y'all look up to Marilyn Monroe

— Niña Leeeeeeeeeeeë (@NinaSerafina) August 6, 2012

Jon Hamm is right about Kim Kardashian

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 20:05:00 +0000

Don't ever change, Don Draper. In an instantly notorious interview for the U.K. edition of Elle magazine, World's Greatest Dreamboat and former Salon Sexiest Man Jon Hamm has dared to admit that the appeal of reality TV stars "doesn't make any sense" to him, and that "Whether it's Paris Hilton or Kim Kardashian or whoever, stupidity is certainly celebrated. Being a f***ing idiot is a valuable commodity in this culture because you’re rewarded significantly." And faster than you can pour your third martini, the tabs have been lapping up that money quote as evidence of a celebrity feud.

Sure enough, the woman who was Mrs. Kris Humphries for 72 days swiftly banged out a reasonably articulate response Monday, tweeting that "I respect Jon and I am a firm believer that everyone is entitled to their own opinion and that not everyone takes the same path in life. We're all working hard and we all have to respect one another. Calling someone who runs their own businesses, is a part of a successful TV show, produces, writes, designs, and creates, 'stupid,' is in my opinion careless." She then promptly tweeted four pouty photographs of herself as she publicly mused how blond she ought to go. And ... the prosecution rests, America.

Rushdie: There once was a girl named Kardashian…

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 13:32:00 +0000

If you were wondering when contemporary literary giants would get around to weighing in on this week's pop culture calamity -- the Kim Kardashian/Kris Humphries divorce -- it seems you weren't alone.

Last night, Twitter user @CatNyugen forthrightly asked enthusiastic Twitterer Salman Rushdie: "hey, why are you talking about literature and art, don't you know there's Kim Kardashian gossip to attend to?"

It’s time to break up with the Kardashians

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 15:30:00 +0000

Does she have to return the $1,650 coffee pot and Lalique monkeys? More significantly, can America please stop giving a crap about her now? After giving NBA player Kris Humphries the best 72 days of her life, Kim Kardashian filed Monday for divorce. If you want to keep up with the Kardashians, you might want to start by installing a revolving door at the wedding chapel.

From the start, the whirlwind romance of the reality star and the basketball beefcake seemed to be moving at a reality television-assisted pace. The two met just a year ago, but by May, Kim was flashing a $2 million diamond roughly the size of the meteor that killed off the dinosaurs. What followed was a painstakingly chronicled and dizzyingly brief engagement. Remember July? They seemed so happy then! Remember when she said she was going to be Kim Humphries henceforth? Remember the August wedding so opulent, it made Kate Middleton's look like a lunchtime exchange of vows at City Hall? E! aired the now bitterly ironic "Kim's Fairytale Wedding: A Kardashian Event" just three weeks ago.