Entertainment

Kim Kardashian Just Defended Kylie Jenner After All That “Self-Made” Backlash

by Nicole Pomarico
Charley Gallay/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

Since Kylie Jenner's Forbes cover story came out last week, she's come under fire for the fact that the magazine called her "self-made." But now, one of her big sisters is standing up for her. In an interview with Refinery29, Kim Kardashian defended Jenner's Forbes story, particularly where the Kylie Cosmetics mogul's career is concerned. And while it's hard to agree that Jenner definitely fits the definition of "self-made," it's easy to see that her family is behind her 100 percent.

In Jenner's Forbes story, the magazine reported that after another year of growth for her company, she could become "the youngest self-made billionaire ever." Being that Jenner is part of the already wealthy and famous Kardashian family, and by virtue of who she was born to, had more assistance than others might have in building a cosmetics company, it's no surprise that people were pretty upset that she was put in the self-made category.

It didn't take long before people started sharing their opinions on Twitter, and the backlash hasn't died down much since. What kind of criticism has Jenner been facing? Here are some examples of what people have been saying since the story first came out:

It's easy to understand why people would be upset, but according to Kardashian, Jenner is self-made, and so is the rest of their family. She told Refinery29:

I really didn’t get it, because she is "self-made" — we are all "self-made." What, because we came from a family that has had success? To me, that doesn’t really make sense... I know so many people like that [who] haven’t turned out to be as successful as Kylie. If anything, I've seen the complete opposite.

She went on to say that she was proud of the way that Jenner took an insecurity she had (her lips) and turned it into a business selling lip kits, which has now expanded to include other types of products, including eyeshadow and concealer.

Kardashian added:

Me, Kylie, not one [of the siblings] has ever depended on our parents for anything besides advice. That’s how I lived my life with my dad. He never gave me anything. We might have the opportunity, but I’ve seen it go the complete opposite way. Nobody works harder than my sisters and my mom.

It's hard to argue that Kardashian and her sisters don't work hard. If you've been following along with their careers or watched Keeping Up With the Kardashians, you already know that they are all constantly working to build their personal brands, particularly where Jenner and Kim K are concerned. But Jenner's rise to success in the cosmetic world was definitely bolstered by the fact that people knew who she and her family were and that she had access to money to start her business and the help of people who knew how to get her where she wanted to go — and these are things that not a lot of would-be entrepreneurs are afforded.

According to Merriam-Webster's dictionary, the word "self-made" means "made rich and successful by your own efforts," and the Cambridge version of the dictionary even goes so far to add that this success is "not because of family money." Doesn't exactly jibe with Jenner's situation, does it?

The fact that Jenner had help with her success shouldn't take away from all she's accomplished. She should be so proud of what she's built at just 20 years old, and it's awesome to see this family continue to succeed. Jenner may not be self-made, but she is killing it anyway — and she has an older sister who's willing to make sure the world knows how proud she is of her.