In 2009, after three seasons of Keeping Up With The Kardashians, the show had become "stale" according to the producers at E!. Audiences were tired of the same old 'first world problems' as a storyline and the future didn't look so bright for the family. Then Kris rolled up her sleeves, went to town on publicity for the show, and their 15 minutes of fame has now been raking in the cash for more than a decade in showbiz.
The Kardashian's fame can launch global cosmetic brands, create one of the fastest-grossing game apps of all time, fill magazine shelves with their name and seek out major designer collaborations. With this much experience between them, they really know how to play the public to keep them wanting more Kardashian news and updates 24/7. Now they have their own apps, which were each downloaded more than 1 million times in the first 24 hours. It's a world of constant Kardashian.
So how did they go from reality TV stars to multi-millionaires? Kris sat down with Oprah Winfrey and revealed, "It was very calculated" and that she had a clear goal to turn "fifteen minutes of fame into thirty". Here we have a look at every shocking the rule in Kris' game plan the family has to follow to stay right at the top.
15 They Have To Give Birth To Stay In The News
When a new Kardashian baby is due it doesn't just make the headlines worldwide but also the show gets a huge boost. They realized this trick early on when Kourtney had her first baby with Scott; she found out after they had already split and interest in the show was restored.
In 2012, Kris openly admitted to Oprah Winfrey that her faith in the show restored when "my children started having children."
The audience could practically hear her rubbing her hands together.
While promoting the season when Kourtney first found out she was pregnant, she made an appearance on the Today show and when quizzed if Scott was the father, she replied, "You're going to have to see on the show." Both Kourtney and Kim have given birth on the show is like peak reality television.
14 Very Personal News Must Be Revealed On The Show First
Just like giving birth on the show, all very personal news has to be put out there for the millions of fans to witness. When Kim issued a statement via E! to the press, announcing that she had split from husband Kris Humphries after 72 days of marriage, she said she was "not ready" to go into detail - however, if people watched her spin-off show Kourtney and Kim Take New York they could hear all about it.
On the spin-off show, Kim can be seen having an emotional breakdown as she cries in front of the cameras, "Do you not think I feel embarrassed that I fell in love and I thought I was? I know in my heart. I feel awful I feel this way. I just know myself. It happened way too fast. I didn't know him." The episode launched the infamous Kim cry-face emoji that is still shared around the world.
13 They Were Told To Not Smile At The Paparazzi
This rule for the family can be credited to Kim's BFF turned self-titled 'FoodGod' Jonathan Cheban, as he was the one to tell Kim never to smile at the paparazzi again. She revealed in a blog post on her website,
"Every time I'd go to the gym or go eat, every paparazzi would ask me questions and I would be like: 'Hey guys!' Like, I so wanted the attention."
She added, "(Jonathan said) 'Do you think everyone else has smiles on their faces? You are too happy, you are smiling way too much. Put your sunglasses on. Stop talking and stop smiling.'"
Now the whole family has got in on the game and none of them crack a smile at the paparazzi. It's unlikely the paparazzi are going away anytime soon as Kendall revealed on her own website, "I literally have ten paps waiting outside my house every single day."
12 Anyone Who Speaks To Them Must Sign Multi-Million Confidentiality Agreements
When Blac Chyna went public with allegations that Rob Kardashian physically abusing her, the press was eager to get a statement from the family. Instead of giving a "no comment" response, instead, the Kardashians sent the press a photo of a nondisclosure agreement signed by Chyna where she agreed to disclose nothing about the family. Chyna was close to being sued by the family for speaking out and the same will go for anyone who dares mention the family to the media without their permission.
It's pretty intense, but it has allowed them complete control over what the media can report. During Kim and Kanye's wedding in Italy, they took away guests' mobile phones so they couldn't be used during the ceremony or even at the reception afterward. It was speculated this was the real reason Kanye's then close friends Jay-Z and Beyonce didn't make the nuptials, as there's no way they would ever give up their phones.
11 Every Move They Make Is Highly Calculated
After two seasons of the show, it was quite clear things going well and plummeting viewing figures looked like the end was near for the Kardashians. Then Kris decided to get it together and play the fame game harder than she ever had before. The matriarch of the family revealed to Oprah Winfrey,
"I started to look at our careers like pieces on a chessboard. Every day, I woke up and walked into my office and asked myself, 'What move do you need to make today?'"
She then admitted, "It was very calculated. My business decisions and strategies were very intentional, definite and planned to the [very last] degree." That has clearly shown over the years, as she has single-handily skyrocketed the careers of all her daughters to multi-millionaire status.
10 They Must Engage In Twitter Feuds To Stay In Headlines
Nothing makes showbiz headlines quicker than a Kardashian vs the world Twitter feud. Previously, the family has been known for launching attacks on Chloe Grace Moretz who disagreed with Kim's naked selfies, Kim then tweeted back that "nobody knew" who the young actress was. Then came Bette Middler who also expressed her concerns about showing too much skin and Kim told the Hollywood legend, "It's past your bedtime."
Then Khloe got her claws out when she had an intense fight with Amber Rose over Kylie dating rapper Tyga when she was so young. Khloe tweeted, "Please stop talking about us in interviews mama. None of us talk about you." She also tweeted about Amber's past, ranting, "'I was a [dancer] since I was 15 years old.' Please don't worry about my sister who has a career & her s**t." When the Kardashians attack, it can get brutal.
9 Artifical Cosmetic Procedures Are A Must But Have To Be Kept Secret
Many have speculated that over the years the family has had a lot of help from a team of surgeons, however, they just argue it's down to the cosmetics. Then after years of denial, Kim finally admitted to getting injections to her behind region, however, she said this was actually due to a side effect of her psoriasis medication. She explained, "One of my neighbors was a dermatologist at Cedars. I go in there and he's like, 'There's a one in a billion chance that you will get a huge indent on your butt.' Of course, I get a huge indent on my butt."
"There is a picture of me in Miami wearing an electric blue dress. You see the indent. And I think that's when the rumors started: 'She's has implants.'"
Kylie also finally confessed to having lip fillers after she had persistently denied the rumors for two years. Her PR team told the press it was a "ridiculous" idea that a 16-year-old girl would have lip fillers but then big sister Khloe persuaded her to come clean to reporters. Finally, Kylie admitted, "I've had temporary lip fillers."
8 Everyone Has To Pay Kris A Cut Of Their Money
Rule number one in the Kardashian household is: Kris is getting paid. The 'momager' profits from anything her children make, alongside the deal for the reality show with E! and her own business ventures like a jewelry line of fake pearls. Now, Kris can boast a personal net worth of $60 million, according to Forbes magazine, and she is commissioned to take anywhere between 5-15% of her daughter's earnings. Well, she is the reason they are so damn famous anyway.
Kris has been in this game for a while, as when she was married to Bruce she took over his management and secured him big brand deals with the likes of Coca-Cola (of course, taking some of the cash for herself, too). She also produced a series of fitness videos in the 90s titled Super Fit With Bruce and Kris Jenner, learning very early on how to capitalize on fame.
7 They Tip-Off The Paparazzi And Leak Their Own Photos
The first family of reality television is an expert when it comes to playing the paparazzi and they work with them in the fame game. Kim has already been called out for calling photographers on herself, as Nick Lachey - who went on a date with her once - revealed,
"Let’s just say this: We went to a movie. No one followed us there. Somehow, mysteriously, when we left, there were 30 photographers waiting outside. There are certain ways to play this game, and some people play it well."
Then following Kim's robbery in Paris she vowed that she "no longer cared about materialistic things". To make this quite clear she went with Kourtney and their kids to the streets of L.A. to feed the homeless. However, it was very convenient that on that day a full camera crew was there to capture them doing such a charitable deed.
6 They Have Bought Fake Social Media Followers Before
How shocked would you be if we told you that some of Kim's 107 million followers on Instagram are most likely fakes? We're guessing not very. She was once the most-followed celebrity on Instagram of all time but then the social media app started to crack down on fake users. When Instagram did their purge of the accounts, Kim lost 1.3million (which was 5% of her followers at the time) 'fans' overnight. Coming from the woman who once said, "I love just posting when something is really authentic. I can smell a mile away when something is not authentic" she might want to practice what she preaches.
It's not just her fans she's misleading but also the advertisers that she is taking money from to reach her audience. As one of the leading influencers on the planet, Kim can charge big brands anywhere between $250,000 - $500,000 for a single photo on her timeline.
5 They Are Stuck With Storylines And Have To Stage Those Events
We wouldn't be able to count just how many moments on KUWTK are faked so we'll just select the highlights. In 2007, Khloe was arrested after a drunken night out and the episode was titled Remembering Dad with the description of the episode stating: "Khloé has trouble coping with the anniversary of her father’s death" and she can be seen getting arrested in the episode.
But the anniversary of her father's death wasn't until six months after her actual arrest (according to the court documents) so the whole thing was very much staged.
Then Kim's ex-husband Kris Humphries revealed that his 'surprise' proposal was actually not as unexpected as we were led to believe. He said, "She was completely surprised, and I think she had a bad reaction or something and she was embarrassed. She said can we just, like, have me come back in one more time and be, like, really surprised. Because she had no idea it was going to happen. It was in her bedroom."
4 They Can Steal Ideas And Just Let The Lawyers Deal With It
The Kardashians have a team of lawyers that work around the clock as the family always has someone threatening to take them to court. They likely don't even know who would like to sue them as these incidents tend to be buried by the legal eagles. The latest case was when designer Destiney Bleu, owner of indie label dbleudazzled, tweeted that Khloe had ripped off one of her pieces - a bejeweled black bodysuit. Khloe's Good American line had the same item up for sale with no compensation for the original sample.
Khloe's lawyers told Bleu that Khloe had "never heard (her) name" and "never saw (her) samples." Although Bleu released a timeline of emails that included Khloe's assistant requesting samples of her work. When you're the type of family who thrive off of the publicity, this is just another incident that keeps the Kardashian name trending.
3 They Have To Agree To Be Sold As A Package Deal
Right now, Kylie has been caught up in a potential pregnancy drama since early September last year. Fans and almost every news source in the world have speculated why she disappeared from the spotlight, started wearing baggy clothes and threw a baby shower at her Hollywood Hills mansion - all signs point to 'pregnancy'.
Kylie has been silent on Instagram and away from photo shoots for months now but even she couldn't turn down the Calvin Klein campaign.
Because what's better than one Kardashian? Five, of course. A reluctant Kylie appears in the photo shoot but she covers her bump either by lying down strategically or with a blanket. She also didn't re-post the photos to her Instagram like her other sisters basically telling the campaign - 'I'll be forced into it but I'm doing no work to help promote.'
2 All Backlash Is Good Backlash
Just months after Kendall was recovering from the shocking Pepsi commercial she tried to peddle that caused a backlash so bad it was world news, she was caught up in another controversy. She and sister Kylie had designed their own t-shirts that featured their faces superimposed over images of Notorious BIG and Tupac Shakur. The sisters were called "disrespectful” and “disgusting” for producing the shirts that cost $125 each.
Notorious B.I.G's mother said, "I am not sure who told (them) that they had the right to do this. The disrespect of these girls to not even reach out to me or anyone connected to the estate baffles me. I have no idea why they feel they can exploit the deaths of 2pac and my son Christopher to sell a T-shirt. This is disrespectful, disgusting, and exploitation at its worst!" Despite everything, Kendall was still the highest earning model of the year and Kylie continued to turn over millions, proving that all publicity is good publicity.
1 They Can Never Walk Away From Fame
Many people ask (or complain): 'Will the Kardashians stay famous forever?' Kylie revealed to Allure magazine,
"I know I don't want to be famous forever. There's gonna be a time where I feel comfortable, I'm at a good place in my life, and I just stop."
That obviously didn't happen when it came to the latest family campaign with Calvin Klein as she was dragged back into the spotlight. So can the Kardashians ever just quit the fame game whilst they are ahead?
With the next generation of the family growing up, it looks unlikely, as they will grow up as the new reality stars. The kids are already being prepped for fame as they appear on the reality show, attend showbiz events and even have their own fan pages online. Including the latest baby bombshells, the Kardashian's fame will likely outlive us all.
Sources: dailymail.co.uk, eonline.com, people.com. TMZ.com
