An alleged former employee has come forward after reality TV star Kim Kardashian's controversial advice encouraging women in business to work harder went viral across social media.
On Wednesday, Variety released a clip of an interview with the Kardashian-Jenner women discussing their lucrative business empires. In the clip, the billionaire businesswoman shared “her best advice for women in business.”
"Get your f------ ass up and work," Kim Kardashian told Variety. "It seems like nobody wants to work these days."
“I have the best advice for women in business,” Kim Kardashian says. “Get your f--king ass up and work. It seems like nobody wants to work these days.” https://t.co/HuddEEXmoM pic.twitter.com/KJCIlaVX3S
— Variety (@Variety) March 9, 2022
After the controversial comments went viral, a former employee of Kardashian was prompted to talk about her experience while working on her app in 2015.
Newsweek, Complex, and UK newspaper Metro reported that Jessica DeFino, a freelance reporter for the New York Times and Slate, alleged that while working on the app, she could barely afford groceries and was reprimanded for freelancing on the side to make ends meet.
I was an editor on the Kardashian apps in 2015 in LA, worked days nights & weekends, could only afford groceries from the 99 Cents Only Store, called out “sick” more than once bc I couldn’t put gas in my car to get to the office, & was reprimanded for freelancing on the side ❤️ https://t.co/mzvnTomjS3
— Jessica DeFino (@jessicadefino_) March 9, 2022
This isn't the first time Kardashian has faced reports of not paying employees fairly.
According to Jezebel and Vanity Fair, a lawsuit filed last year against Kardashian alleges the SKIMS founder denied seven former staffers more than $25,000 in wages.