We grabbed up some of the Internets most opinionated mouths to answer our VIBE office debate of the week… Did Reality TV Go Too Far with Kim Kardashian’s “Fake” Wedding? Peep thoughts from our own Starr Rhett, Charlamagne Tha God, Mashonda Tifrere, Demetria Lucas, Jozen Cummings, Rae Holliday, and Jamilah Lemieux then leave your own in the comments. Don’t shoot the messenger!
STARR RHETT ? @GANGSTARRGIRL ? VIBE.COM
VERDICT: Nah,
“Reality TV is known for being extra so for me the question is, did the Kardashians go too far? My answer is yes. They made a mockery of marriage, played all of their fans and got paid. That’s the realest pimp shit I’ve ever seen. I’m not mad at them, though, because attention whores need an audience. If they didn’t have one then they would probably go away but until then the shamelessness will continue.”
DEMETRIA LUCAS ? @ABELLEINBK.COM ? ABELLEINBROOKLYN.COM
VERDICT: Nah.
Um… Kim Kardashian is a reality TV star. Her entire life over the last five years has been staged, scripted, filmed, edited, publicized, and aired. Is it really so unbelievable that a woman whose mother, Kris Kardashian, is a proven marketing mastermind who exploits her daughters’ relationships, family dysfunctions, bodies, medical conditions (and more) would fake a wedding? (That’s rhetorical.) Kim isn’t the first or last person to marry for publicity or money. And while she (and her mother) may be mocking the supposed sanctity of marriage, the institution is no more destroyed by Kim’s quick about face than the reigning fifty percent divorce rate. If anyone’s faith in marriage has decreased because Kim filed for divorce, they didn’t have faith in marriage to begin with. Sorry.
CHARLAMAGNE THA GOD ? @CTHAGOD ? THE BREAKFAST CLUB
VERDICT: Yep.
“HELL YEAH! Is nothing sacred? What’s next, faking a death for ratings? I’m done with the Kardashian brand. They made 65 million last year off just doing business so why stoop so low to do a publicity stunt like this? Everybody is talking about how “She made 17 million in 72 days.” Yeah but in the process I feel she may have tarnished her brand. I think it should be extreme consumer backlash. I think people should stop watching her reality shows, people shouldn’t buy her clothes, her perfume, stop supporting the fake shit. In closing I want Kim Kardashian to donate her organs to science while she’s still alive to feel them being removed. End quote.”
MASHONDA TIFRERE ? @MASHONDALOYAL ? MASHONDALOYAL.COM
VERDICT: Nah.
“No way did reality TV go too far. I think the person watching reality TV went to far with their expectations. Kim K is a business woman, bottom line. What people tend to forget is reality TV is 75% non-reality. It’s for entertainment purposes and ratings only. She gave y’all a great show and a beautiful wedding to watch. Everyone seemed satisfied. Don’t get mad that now it’s on to the next script. I’m not mad at Kim. She’s living her life without hurting anyone. That’s all that should matter.”
JOZEN CUMMINGS ? @JOZENC ? UNTILIGETMARRIED.COM
VERDICT: Nah.
Hopefully this is reality television’s nadir. Reality TV didn’t go too far so much as fans of reality TV did. The E! Network isn’t devoting a four-part special to a reality television celebrity if they don’t believe viewers are going to turn in in spades. I can’t blame E! for supplying the demand, for them, this is a money-grab and for Kim Kardashian it’s the same thing, they deserve every penny they earned. As the old saying goes, don’t hate the player hate the game. All of this stuff may make you throw popcorn at your screen when watching people like the Kardashians, but remember they’re still on your screen.
RAE HOLLIDAY ? @RAEHOLLIDAY ? STUFFFLYPEOPLELIKE.COM
VERDICT: Nah
You know, When I first heard of Kim Kardashian’s engagement I thought ‘Here we go with this s%^&!’ At that point I was completely over the word Kardashian. I mean, talk about OVERsaturation. Who knew getting pounded out by Brandy’s lil’ brother through the lens of a Blackberry Curve would lead to all this? Sexy Can I? Even with the media whoredom circus they live in the center of, nothing could have prepared me for this wedding, nothing. Seriously. So let me get this straight, she knew thew that dude for 24 hours, and E! turns their ‘union’ (air quotation marks) into the Royal Wedding? What sense did it make? They barely knew each other, yet sponsors were dishing out millions to participate in a union that at best, should have taken place in a match.com chat room. They could have spent that money on Bobby & Whitney. Did Reality TV go to far? Nope. After giving Khloe & Lamar 30 minutes a week to turn the stomachs of innocent bystanders, with their sloppy kisses, unwavering arguments (they did meet the day before their wedding) and dry humping, reality TV had no choice but to plummet to hell. That wedding just closed the casket.
JAMILAH LEMIEUX ? @SISTERTOLDJA ? THEBEAUTIFULSTRUGGLE.COM
VERDICT: Yep.
Yes, “reality” has gone too far. Beyond the sanctity of marriage (which does not exist in this world, obviously), shenanigans like this defeat the whole purpose of reality TV: cheap to produce programming. Kim is making millions from her pretend life…if there’s that much money to spend, pay some actors and make a well-written make-believe world! People will buy any and all things Kardashian, for some strange reason. So as much as I’d love to blame Vh1, the family or the advertisers, I can’t deny the fact that this seemingly vapid woman is a walking multi-million dollar brand. The story lines keep getting deeper because simply watching the Kardash girls shop and flirt won’t satisfy viewers who have developed this attachment, this need to truly see inside this family’s lives.
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