Kim Kardashian recently told Variety she had “the best advice” for women in business. “Get your f—ing a– up and work. It seems like nobody wants to work these days.” As it turns out, it’s easier to do that when you’re starting out as a member of millionaire family. And one former employee described what working for the Kardashian clan is like, in a harrowing op-ed that she wrote for Vice. (We quote parts of it here, but we encourage you to read the whole thing.)

Jessica DeFino was an assistant editor on Kardashian Jenner Official Apps, and to hear her tell it, she certainly got her “f—ing a– up and worked.” And yet, she was barely able to pay her bills. “I wanted to climb the corporate ladder,” she said. “I wanted to work. I just couldn’t afford to get there.” In her op-ed, she describes her time there, and she also interviewed some other former employees.

Here are six of the awful things about working for the Kardashians:

• She Couldn't Afford Gas For Her Car or Groceries

  Her salary was $35,000 although she was working for a company that was sure to make millions. She revealed that at one point where there were “19 miles to empty in my gas tank, 15 miles between my apartment and my office, and $5 and change in my bank account. I pulled my 10-year-old Ford Mustang—banged up and bright yellow—into the Arco station at Western and Melrose, popped open the fuel filler, inserted the nozzle, and pumped, the price ticker jumping 20 or 30 cents with each trigger-pull of my finger. I stopped when it hit $4—a little over a gallon at the place and time: Los Angeles, California.” Any of the Kardashians would probably have a hard time relating to her lifestyle: “When the now-defunct apps launched in September 2015, featuring content that was created over the previous five months, the Hollywood Reporter wrote that 600,000 people subscribed to Kylie Jenner’s app alone in the first two days. Insider estimated the apps would generate $32,000,000 from the $3 monthly subscriptions in a single year. I was shopping for groceries at the 99 Cents Only Store.”

• But They Didn't Want Her To Take Freelance Gigs

  “To make ends meet, I freelanced for the entertainment site Ranker,” she said, “compiling clickbait-y lists like ‘Fun Facts You Didn’t Know About Lady Gaga’ and ‘Which Delayed Albums Were Actually Worth The Wait?’ at $20 to $50 apiece. When Whalerock [the company that ran the apps] caught wind of it, I was called into a manager’s office and reprimanded. Freelancing apparently violated a company rule restricting the outside writing projects employees could pursue.” She noted, “Hustling your way to greater success, it seemed, was for the already rich, not those who worked for them.​​” Ultimately, she was allowed to continue writing lists for Ranker, but future freelance assignments would require approval, they said. DeFino said she stopped pursuing new freelance clients.

• There Was No Time Off

  When the apps’ anticipated launch date neared, working hours increased. “It was 24/7,” said Jennifer Chan, who joined the Kardashian-Jenner apps as a senior editor in July 2015. “I have many memories of working weekends, giving up holidays and evenings, missing birthday parties. I remember [when] we were still in launch mode, we got the afternoon off on a holiday, and [I was] like, I don’t have any plans because everyone I know assumes I’m unavailable.” She added, “One Christmas, Kanye had just given [Kim] like, a million gifts, and she wanted me to post all the gifts on Christmas Day. I had to get [an internet] hotspot. It was my Christmas also, but I was posting all day to her app.” Answering holiday emails “was an expectation set by Whalerock,” the company that ran the apps. “I don’t know if it was explicitly said, but it was pretty clear we couldn’t keep [the sisters] waiting.”

• There Was Very Little Access to the Sisters

  Pre-launch, the Kardashian-Jenner family weren’t heavily involved in the editorial aspect of day-to-day operations and she was actually dispatched to a movie premiere to “get original quotes from Kendall and Kylie—for use in their own apps.” To add insult to injury, she had to fight for sound bites with members of the general media. In other words, she was a Kardashian employee who needed Kardashian quotes for her job and had to fight with other members of the press to get them.

• It Makes It Tough To Have A Relationship

  Lina, another former app editor who asked that her name be changed for fear of retaliation, said that “I would be on a date with my partner and I’d be on my phone, and this was every night. He’d be like, ‘Can you please put your phone down?’ and I’d be like, ‘No, I can’t, this is a Kardashian!’ I wanted to make myself available at crazy hours and on the weekend because of who she was. I literally would be up at 2 a.m. answering her emails.”

• They Were Promoting A Lie

  “I knew that the apps sold a beauty ideal that was unrealistic and unattainable,” she said. “Even for the Kardashian-Jenners themselves. Kylie’s app often promoted her $29 Kylie Cosmetics Lip Kits. (Kylie’s lips are famously the product of injectables.) Khloé’s app shared how to use contouring makeup to “get a nose job every single day.” (Khloé has since admitted to having an actual, surgical nose job.) Kim’s app published articles like “How To Facetune Your Face With Makeup.” (During my time there, Whalerock Industries employed a Photoshop artist to airbrush images for the apps.)”

Sign Up For The Jammin' 105.7 Rhythm Report Newsletter

Stay up to date on the music & entertainment news, Las Vegas happenings you need know, plus exclusive contests, games, and more!

Email *

Subscribe

By clicking "Subscribe" I agree to the website's terms of Service and Privacy Policy. I understand I can unsubscribe at any time.