I have a problem, and that problem is reality TV fame.
On Monday, Kim Kardashian announced she was divorcing her husband of 72 days. Days. That isn”t even three months. Are you kidding me?
Obviously, things must have gone sour. My guess as to when is from the moment a TV camera was put in front of anyone with the last name Kardashian.
For anyone unaware, the Kardashian family is considered famous for their deceased patriarch Robert Kardashian”s relationship with O.J. Simpson. The former LA lawyer and businessman answered Simpson”s call when he needed legal help in his infamous murder trial. Robert died from cancer in the early 2000s. He and wife Kris divorced in 1990 and she married former Olympic athlete Bruce Jenner in 1991.
Daughter Kim Kardashian became “famous” in early 2007 after a sex tape she made with her then-boyfriend, R&B singer Ray J, surfaced. By October 2007, the E! Channel began airing a reality show, “Keeping Up with the Kardashians,” and we have been unable to escape Kim, Kourtney, Khloe and any other of their sisters whose name starts with “K” ever since (lone brother Robert Kardashian, Jr. is the only sibling without a first name that starts with a “K”).
And now, this family that”s famous for being famous are all multi-millionaires by sinking their money-grubbing hooks into innumerable products (clothing, shoes, fragrances, sunless tanning sprays, workout DVDs, just to name a few things) and by getting in the “news” in any way, shape or form possible.
This family is just one in a long line of people who gained a minimal amount of fame and attempted to run a marathon with it.
Dare I say the name, “Speidi?”
Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag were mere nobodies when they were “cast” on MTV reality show, “The Hills.” The show became a success and, after Pratt and Montag became a couple and later married, the two went off the deep end into the world of selling out for fame.
This culminated in Montag undergoing 10 plastic surgery procedures in one day in early January 2010 at the age of 23. The surgeries were meant to help a singing career she was trying to start. It ultimately failed because she couldn”t sing and her voice was heavily auto-tuned.
Did I mention the two started a divorce rumor as a publicity stunt to try and help revive Montag”s career?
Look at the “Jersey Shore” cast. They”re all a bunch of drunken morons who sleep around and are millionaires because of their “antics.”
What the hell happened to television? I remember the summer of 2000 when “Survivor” debuted to huge ratings and everyone couldn”t stop talking about “the death of TV and the rise of reality TV.”
I liked “Survivor,” at the time. I couldn”t even tell you the last time I watched an episode of the show. Or, for that matter, any reality TV shows at this point. The genre makes me want to shut off my brain.
I miss the days when scripted television didn”t constantly face the proverbial axe for being too expensive to produce thanks to the frugality of reality TV series.
Curse you, “Survivor.” You”re still on the air; still giving ordinary folks a taste of fame just like all the other reality shows out there.
But really, curse you reality TV show fame. You are a despicable thing akin to signing a deal with the devil. Stop ruining lives, especially mine.
Kevin N. Hume can be reached at kevin.n.hume@gmail.com or call directly 263-5636 ext. 14.
