In 2003, a young girl from California made a decision she later came to regret. She allowed her boyfriend to record themselves having explicit sex while on vacation in Mexico. As is common for the most part, when relationships breakdown, people are confused, angry, and usually want to resort to violence or some other form of vengeance.
In her case, her boyfriend thought he did not have anything to lose. She had everything to lose, not just for the shame on womanhood but also for the fact that she was from a prominent family.
He released the sex tape in 2007.
Hell hath no fury than a woman scorned, many writers have written. Not Kim. She decided to turn her act of infamy to fame. By some deliberate genius or sheer sympathy from the nation, or just pure fortune as the internet was coming of age, she rode the infamy to fame and wild success.
She turned her entire family into a reality show. Everyone in the family became a commodity. America was willing to engage with them. What her boyfriend meant for evil turned into a gold mine for the curvaceous and beautiful woman.
Whereas she was to be avoided
for the shame of her action, she was instead seen as victim and became beloved.
She is fortunate.
Many in her situation would have taken their own lives, unable to live with the shame. She is the quintessential Horatio Alger character—-from infamy and disgrace to fame and fortune.
She has tens of millions of followers on Social Media. When she speaks, she has an audience of 75 million people around the world ready to listen and maybe, when necessary, take action. She can help sell any product from a candy to a seat on Space X and everything in between. She is a titan in her own right, a product of the internet revolution.
Caveat Emptor. Do not try to imitate Kim’s pathway to success. It may not work for you. The teenage daughter of a very famous black actor tried to imitate Kim by making a sex tape. Her father who is well respected was alarmed. Why would she do this? She had the world at her feet already. I wonder what has become of her.
Kim has since gone on to Law School and has become an advocate for criminal justice reform. She visited the White House under Trump to advocate for pardons for deserving prisoners. As the Biden presidency winds down, she has sent a plea to President Joe Biden: “Please Mr. President, be kind to pardon hundreds of inmates who have reformed their lives in prison and let them reintegrate with their families.” She concludes: Make it a big part of your legacy, Mr. President.”
