During “The Kardashians” series premiere, Kim Kardashian addressed Debra Messing’s comments head on. In her response, she had the air of someone who’s used to having her every move critiqued. Per The Hollywood Reporter, she was voted the “most disliked celebrity” in a 2015 Q Scores poll. Business Insider pointed out that she had the biggest Instagram following that same year.
In the first episode of her new reality series, Kardashian called herself an “underdog” in reference to the negative public opinions that have followed her for years. “Everyone just thinks I’m like a ditz,” she complained before directly referring to Messing. “A girl from ‘Will & Grace’ came out and said that she has no idea why I would be chosen as a host. But it’s like, ‘Why do you care?”
Kardashian took it a step further and called out the fact that it was another woman criticizing her accomplishments instead of uplifting her. “I don’t comment to tear people down, especially another female,” she said. “Like, if that’s what you think, dude, then, like, cool. Like, tune in.”
Earlier this year, Kardashian faced backlash over her comments around women in business. In an unfortunate sound bite, she told Variety that her advice for women was to “Get your f****** a** up and work. It seems like nobody wants to work these days.” She later clarified her comments, and semi-apologized, but the damage was already done.