unpaid internships

‘Stay far, far away’: Alleged unpaid interns speak out about working for the Kardashians

Kim has gone viral for saying women need to ‘get off their asses and work’


Another day, another Kardashian controversy surfaces. All eyes are currently on Kim, thanks to some choice comments she made during a Variety interview published last night (9th March).

The billionaire businesswoman angered working class people in their hundreds, after saying: “I have the best advice for women in business. Get your f**king ass up and work. It seems like nobody wants to work these days – you have to surround yourself with people who want to work.”

You’d be excused for not knowing a whole lot about Kim Kardashian’s background. But, before her career took an upward trajectory, she was born into a wealthy family. Her dad – Robert Kardashian – was a top-end lawyer until he died in 2003. Before Kris became the benevolent momager she is today, she had her own line of exercise equipment, as well as a children’s fashion boutique.

It’s pretty safe to say Kim has never experienced a gruelling 12-hour shift in a supermarket, woken up at three o’clock in the morning to mop floors, or cleaned the sick off her shirt in the middle of a primary school. But, for individuals who claim they’ve worked as unpaid interns for her (or various Kardashian-Jenner companies) in the past, these situations might feel more familiar.

Alleged former unpaid interns are speaking out on Twitter

At the tip of the iceberg, alleged former interns and employees opened up about their experiences online after the Variety clip went viral.

One CNN editor, Celene Zavara, claimed she’d worked “for free” at an unspecified Kardashian company. Meanwhile, writer Jessica DeFino said: “I was an editor on the Kardashian apps in 2015 in LA, worked days, nights and weekends, could only afford groceries from the 99 cents store, called out sick more than once because I couldn’t put gas in my car to get to the office, and was reprimanded for freelancing on the side.” She also branded the industry “f**ked up and exploitative.”

Old job adverts have been pulled up

Multiple sources have pulled up old screenshots from entertainmentcareers.net; a job-seeking website similar to Indeed and Creative Access. Several job adverts seemingly posted by Jenner Communications – Kris Jenner’s PR company – state the roles are unpaid, instead promising “experience” and “skill development.” A quick glance at the website shows these adverts are still up there, albeit archived.

One particular internship claimed the chosen candidate would be working under a Personal Assistant and expected to “run personal errands for the family.” Another specified these errands in more detail, naming duties like “grocery shopping” and “helping with dog.”

The alleged ads were targeted at “current college students” only, again clarifying the role was unpaid and “solely to gain experience while receiving school credit.

Supposed unpaid interns have left raging Glassdoor reviews

jenner communications glassdoor review

Photo via Glassdoor

Of the five reviews left on the Jenner Communications profile, three of them were rated two stars and under. While each “worker” chose to remain anonymous, they didn’t hold back on their alleged experiences at the company.

A former “employee” – as opposed to intern – stated the hours were “long, not enough benefits and paid well below market rate.” An “intern” scored it a single star, stating: “Stay far, far away. The people working there are incredibly mean and don’t take time to answer questions. No-one cares about you or cares to properly train you. Incredibly disorganised. A lot of stupid and pointless busywork. Doesn’t even qualify as an internship. Immoral people. Immoral business practices.

“Don’t call this an internship. Classifying this as an unpaid internship is illegal as the position is not educational and you are doing the same work as actual assistants and runners are doing.”

Another supposed former intern accused the company of being “horrible.”

While the initial controversy surfaced back in 2017, neither Kris Jenner or any Jenner Communications affiliate has responded.

The Tab has reached out to Kris Jenner, Jenner Communications and Entertainment Careers for comment.

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Featured image via Instagram before edits.