Kim Kardashian’s Journey From Reality Star to Lawyer!

Since Kim Kardashian announced her desire to make a career change as a full-time lawyer, she has spoken at the White House in support of the 2018 First Step Act, negotiated the clemency of former prisoner Alice Marie Johnson with former President Trump, and started a couple of media projects to spread awareness on prison reform in the US.

In 2019, Kim Kardashian, the reality TV star, media influencer, businesswoman, and mother of four, announced her desire to make another career shift by becoming a full-time lawyer. Since then, Kardashian’s most significant efforts towards pursuing a career in law include her public support of the 2018 First Step Act (FSA) campaign, advocating for the clemency of several prisoners, and various media projects.

Former President Donald Trump signed the FSA of 2018. This act improved criminal justice outcomes while reducing the federal prison population. Overall, this act is intended to maintain public safety. On June 13, 2019, Trump welcomed Kardashian to speak at the White House. Kardashian gave a speech sharing what motivated her interest in criminal justice and announced a ride-share partnership that will aid formerly incarcerated people in getting jobs. Kardashian shared her hopes of this partnership being her first step towards reducing recidivism rates. Kardashian stated, “I think the ultimate goal is everyone wants the community to be safe, and the more opportunity we have and that they have and the support that we help give them, the safer everyone will be, and the recidivism rate will continue to just get lower.” Kardashian uses her platform to raise awareness on this issue to inspire others to make a difference.

Before delivering her speech on prison reform at the White House, Kardashian met with former President Trump over a year prior. In this meeting with Trump, Kardashian pleaded for the release of prisoner Alice Marie Johnson. Johnson had been given a life sentence with no parole for a nonviolent drug-related crime. Kardashian had met with Trump on Johnson’s 63rd birthday, arguing that the 21 years she has served time has more than paid her debt to society and that continuing to keep her imprisoned would be morally and economically unjust. After meeting with Kardashian, Trump granted Johnson clemency. Johnson wrote a letter to Kardashian publicly thanking the celebrity for her support. Johnson wrote, “There are no words strong enough to express my deep and heartfelt gratitude. Ms. Kardashian, you are quite literally helping to save my life and restore me to my family. I was drowning and you have thrown me a life jacket, and given me hope that this life jacket I’m serving may one day be taken off.” Kardashian’s compassion for Johnson shows the dedication and thoughtfulness she will give to her future work in the law.

Kardashian takes advantage of her success in the entertainment industry to promote her ideas, beliefs and hopes for the U.S. prison system. Kardashian has started various media projects to show her work and support for bipartisan prison reform. Kardashian began filming The Justice Project, which documents Kardashian’s activism strategy, advocating for the causes of individual inmates instead of taking on the entire U.S. prison population. The Justice Project shows an insider’s view into each inmate’s story, from crime to punishment to reformation. By hearing each inmate’s story, Kardashian learns more about the prison system, namely its many flaws. Kardashian also started a true crime podcast, The System, which possesses a similar theme to The Justice Project. Kardashian’s The System is an additional form of media to spread awareness, where she raises important questions and starts conversations to shed light on the prison system.

Kardashian shared that her inspiration to become a lawyer comes from her late father, Robert Kardashian. Kardashian was extremely close to her father growing up and became interested in the law as a teenager. By this time, the defense attorney was working on the infamous 1994 O.J. Simpson murder trial. Kardashian was fascinated by her father’s work to defend his friend, O.J. Simpson’s innocence. In 2019, Kardashian admitted, “I think that by the time I was a teenager and he was working on the O.J. case, I was sneaking in his office, looking at all of the evidence and things I shouldn’t have been looking at.” Robert Kardashian’s determination and passion for criminal defense law have inspired Kim’s interest in the field. While Kardashian didn’t immediately pursue her interest in the law, over the past few years, she has diligently worked to become a strong advocate and defender of the rights of others.