"What do they even do?": Larry King calls the Kardashians 'fantastically untalented'
Larry King has apparently been keeping up with the Kardashians - the 84-year-old - talk show host seemed to disguise a bit of shade in his evaluation of the family's claim to fame, saying that the clan thrived in the public eye despite having very little to offer apart from their willingness to open up their lives to public scrutiny.
In an interview with US Weekly on April 3, the seven-time Emmy-nominated host of 'Larry King Now' gave his opinion on the Kardashian-Jenner clan's widespread influence on popular culture as cultural icons as well as the way they have capitalized on their reality television success.
King acknowledged their undeniable magnetism, saying, "I think the Kardashian phenomena is a great example of something that is unimportantly important. Why do we care? What do they even do? No matter what people want to say about them, we’re clearly drawn to them." He continued, "Ryan Seacrest does such an amazing job producing that show."
King mentioned that he had met the family matriarch, Kris Jenner, and said of the interaction, "I like her and all the kids." He added that though the celebrity family "don't have these fantastic talents we relate to celebrity," the rest of the world continues to take a "fantastic interest" in the details of their lives.
King explained, "It’s an overwhelming interest and a great example of the current state of pop culture in America. They don’t do much, but because of the paparazzi, TMZ and the way that we intake pop culture via social media, they are famous and we know about their lives. The Kardashians are the best example of the current state of pop culture in America that we are living in."
The TV veteran compared the Kardashians to Babe Ruth. "Someone asked me who the best example of the roaring '20s was and I said Babe Ruth," he said. "He was living lavish, having an indulgent time with his life, eating everything and too much of it, but that was life during that time. The Kardashians are the perfect example of the times we are living in right now. They share so much of their lives. We are constantly invited into every aspect of their lives."
King talked about his own sons, Chance, 19, and Cannon, 17, saying, "I have two teenage boys who spend all their time on their iPhone, consuming information and watching the seemingly mundane parts of people’s lives. That is a great indicator of our current state of pop culture. We like to be let into their lives and follow them in that way. It doesn’t need to be miraculous, there just needs to be a lot of openness, and there surely is that."
In a 2013 interview with Seacrest, King brought up the Kardashians and, in a similar vein to the US Weekly interview, mentioned the fact that the family seemed to have no discernable talents. Seacrest told King in all earnestness, "They're marketing geniuses." King has also previously interviewed Kim Kardashian in 2010.