Kim Kardashian divorce: Cynics or not, Americans stay tuned
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Some Americans might feel duped by the news that Kim Kardashian is getting a divorce. Others say they called it.
The famous-for-being-famous Kardashian filed for divorce Monday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, citing irreconcilable differences with her husband, NBA player Kris Humphries. The breakup comes just 10 weeks after her star-studded, TV wedding.
Confirmation came via entertainment mogul Ryan Seacrest, who either gets credit or blame for Kardashian-mania, depending upon your point of view. He said via Twitter: ‘Yes @kimkardashian is filing for divorce this morning. I touched base with her, getting a statement in just a few mins.’
The lavish Aug. 20 wedding took place at a private estate near Santa Barbara, and was turned into a two-part special on E!
Kardashian turned the day of matrimony into a money-making venture, according to our sister blog, All the Rage, starting with the comped $20,000 Vera Wang wedding dress and half a million dollars in champagne provided by Perrier-Jouet.
Then there was the estimated $17.9-million profit for Kardashian -- including $15 million made from the TV rights to the wedding; nearly $3 million from People magazine for the rights to the engagement announcement and the wedding photos; and $50,000 for having her bachelorette party at Tao Las Vegas.
It’s enough to make cynics ask whether the whole thing was a sham, a publicity stunt, a way to hoodwink the public from the get go -- which is precisely what the cynics asked when news of the divorce became public. After all, the marriage was built up as a modern-day love story that sucked in record TV ratings.
L.A. Now reports that the couple had a prenuptial agreement. The divorce, if finalized, would be Kardashian’s second.
There’s no shortage of people who will wonder why anyone cares, and we can already hear the inevitable reader complaints about coverage of this latest Kardashian development.
But gauging by the headlines already generated by the announcement -- and the ensuing reactions on social media -- odds are that Americans (cynical or not) will be awaiting each development.
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--Rene Lynch
twitter.com/renelynch
