Kim Kardashian Reflects on What a Fluke Her Family’s Fame Is

On the season four finale of The Kardashians—which dropped today on Hulu—Kim Kardashian joked that her famous family “scammed the system” to achieve celebrity.

The topic of conversation came up at a dinner celebrating Scott Disick’s fortieth birthday. Matriarch Kris Jenner gave a toast, telling Disick she had known him for “most of [his] adult life” and, referring to the family’s former E! reality show Keeping Up with the Kardashians, that Disick was there “episode one, season one,” Jenner said.

Disick, ever the comedian, laughed and said, “I was like, ‘This show’s going nowhere!’”

Later, Kardashian gave a toast to Disick, reflecting on how she’d known him for 19 years. (Disick was the longtime partner of Kardashian’s older sister Kourtney, and they share three children together.) In her toast, Kardashian said he had “supported me through thick and thin” and was with her “through every phase.”

“[Remember] when you were on the cover of Dog Fancy?” Scott laughed, which was quickly corrected to the right magazine: K9 Magazine. “Anything for a cover!” Kardashian said, joking that she didn’t even like dogs.

As Disick pointed out how far she has come—and now has graced more than one cover of Vogue—Kardashian said to the group “Guys, we scammed the system. We did it! Whatever it is, we figured it out and did it! We put in some hard work.” 

Later, in a confessional interview, she continued “Scott’s my motivator. He’ll always say, ‘God, can you believe you did it?’ And I’m like, ‘I can’t. This is crazy.’ … We aren’t supposed to be here. Like, how did we get in this cool party? We weren’t the cool kids. How did we do it?”

Keeping Up with the Kardashians premiered in October 2007 and came to an end in June 2021 after almost 14 years and 20 seasons. It launched several spinoffs during its run, and the family’s new vehicle, The Kardashians, debuted in April 2022. 

“Money was always the goal, but I was obsessed with fame—like, embarrassingly obsessed,” Kardashian said in an interview with Vogue Arabia in 2019. “I do agree that fame can be addictive. But now my focus has shifted. Even in my darkest of times I don’t regret putting myself out there for the world to see. People have shared with me over the years how much it has helped them to feel less alone when dealing with their own adversity. I love having a voice and I appreciate the platform that I have been given—even though I do wish I could have more privacy at times.”