Kim Kardashian was paid $500,000 for a hosting gig in Nigeria: As you were

Last week one of my famzers who blogs as well said the strangest thing about me. She said,

"He would definitely not poison the mouse, he lacks that ruthlessness and the ability to see the world only in black and white. This is a good thing as much as it is bad."

I do not disagree with this. I would propose that I am only like this because I love myself. I love all the nasty, hidden bits of myself that no one sees. I love the fact that whenever I see that a new blog has sprung up among my peers I steam for at least a day because I am well aware that some of you famzers only read as a favour to me.

If another one of your friends started blogging you would have less time for mine and what if they were better than me? Then I would be damned. Eclipsed by a friend of a friend. And I love the fact that I struggle to deserve everything that I've been given. It is not an easy battle. I often come up short but that too is okay. I am incapable of judging anyone more harshly than I judge myself.

Of murderers and serial killers and racists I can only mourn their actions, because if I had walked the entire journey in their shoes I cannot tell you with complete certainty that I would have chosen any differently. It would be far easier to yell about things without thinking them through. That I could sit on my horse and judge you all.

So unto the nitty gritty, the marrow of the bone that I have to pick with the world, the cotyledons of the beans in my bonnet. They say that premier league football players are overpaid. Of course if you take into account that Rooney is paid £250,000 per week when most highly skilled surgeons with years and years of training earn the same amount in a year and are more highly valued by society this seems plausible.

You see, things like value are not defined by God. There is no scale of value. People are paid exactly what they are worth. If you feel that you are underpaid then quit and get a new job where you're paid more. If Rooney wasn't worth £250,000 a week you wouldn't watch every Manchester United game, you wouldn't buy a season ticket at Old Trafford and you wouldn't spend hours of your time thinking about his role in the next match or tweeting about how well or how poorly he's playing.

When was the last time you tweeted about your doctor? How many times a week do you go to the hospital? Do you spend more time watching football than you do at the hospital? You cannot have your cake and eat it too. You cannot watch every premiership match and every Champions league match and ask why it is that premier league football players earn more than most people. Surely you must see that it is because of you. Furthermore you mustn't forget that they are the best at their jobs. The highest paid football player, Samuel Eto'o earns about £17,000,000 per year. I will wager that the highest paid medical professional earns more, because football playing often doesn't allow for ownership benefits. The highest paid medical professional in the world probably owns his own chain of hospitals.

Now that the scene has been set let's talk about a fairly recent issue. Kim Kardashian went to Lagos, Nigeria to host the "Love Like a Movie Event" with Darey. She was reportedly paid $500,000 for her efforts. It seems like the best way to do this is to take some of the most popular comments and comment on them.

"Rich, controversial and influential, Kardashian’s rating on the entertainment scale seems to be enjoying regular “top-up,” especially among the younger female folks. But many families are not exactly comfortable with her lifestyle, as she hardly cuts the image of a role model to a generation in need of a moral dress up. Many families believe Kardashian is outright “vacuous”, as she is believed to have nothing virtuous to pass on to the younger ones. The American First Lady, Mrs Michelle Obama, was, for instance, quoted to have said she does not allow her two daughters — Malia and Sasha — to watch  “Keeping up with the Kardashians”, which is believed to have a bad influence on growing minds."

Eddy Odivri of Thisday.

I do not watch Keeping up with the Kardashians or anything remotely Kardashian related because I have no interest in them. They do not fascinate me. I do not judge people who subscribe to episode after episode, week after week. It's the same way some people have the Crime channel on all night. I find that when I do have the Crime Channel on all night the characters tend to gain direct access into my head. They force me to spend the duration of the night weaving magical spells and developing super powers to fight them off when I'd much rather be rescuing damsels in distress from whomping willows.

I cannot say that Keeping up With the Kardashian has a bad influence on growing minds, what I can say is that if you think that it does stop your children from watching it. Don't find them watching it and go about telling the whole world that it has a bad influence on growing minds. In the grand scheme of things, its influence on growing minds couldn't possibly be that great.

Furthermore to say that she is vacuous doesn't strike me as mean or harsh, it's false. We all talk about how life isn't easy and how opportunities must be grasped. Kim Kardashian isn't an heiress like Paris Hilton before she became famous she was first brutally embarrassed by the release of that sex tape. I believe that she worked hard. Reality TV stars are the flavour of the month. They change more often than women use tampons.

Do you remember the days when Tommy Hilfiger's daughter was a reality tv star? And what of the cast of the Hills? How many of them can you remember? Keeping up with the Kardashians has been around for 6 years. The way I see it, she isn't vacuous at all. If anything she's shrewd and we are fools for thinking her vacuous. Maybe that's why she was paid so much to come to Nigeria. Maybe they walked into the meeting expecting a ditz and were tragically unprepared when they found out that she wasn't. Don't you think they wouldn't have paid less if they could?
And then there's the use of the "many". It doesn't matter that many families disapprove of her, all that matters is that there are enough people that want to see her. Their approval is of little or no consequence.
 
"My questions is; what is wrong with us Africans? When did Kim Kardashian become so good at hosting that she has to be paid thousands of dollars and be brought to Nigeria to handle a concert? Couldn’t Nigerians have found a beautiful lady with far more skills than Kim K. to do the same job?"

ghanacelebrities.com

Nothing. There is nothing wrong with us Africans. 

I don't know when she became so good at hosting concerts but she must be pretty darn good to have been paid so much for it. The organisers aren't asking for their money back so she must have done the job they asked of her to an adequate standard. 

No. If they could, they would not have asked Kim Kardashian to do it. Which beautiful Nigerian lady would have provided them with as much media coverage? I'm not sure that you understand. Kim Kardashian who is pregnant, came to Nigeria and tweeted,

"Thank you for the amazing time Nigeria! I can't wait to come back soon!"

The woman has 17.5 million followers!!!
It is a wonder that the federal government didn't pay for her to come themselves. In fact how do we know that they didn't? Nigeria hasn't been a prime tourist destination for several years because of all the conflict in the North and the South. But no one can tell you this better than the Foreign and Commonwealth office, click on the link below.


In my opinion it's the equivalent of a $500,000 advert. Except that it might be better value for money than a $3.5 million, 30 second spot at the Superbowl. This one has certainly gone on for a lot longer.

"Instead, she seems to have made a sensationally brief appearance at a nightclub, nominally introducing a concert for which Nigeria's great and good – don't ask me to make value judgments, I just type this stuff – paid the equivalent of $640 a head."

Marina Hyde, the Guardian.

Eko Hotel isn't a nightclub. It may be many things but it isn't a nightclub. But we can't blame you for this. You're a columnist for the guardian. You had to make things as interesting and funny as possible. A nightclub is infinitely more exciting than the Eko Hotel & Suites Convention Centre. You mustn't do this too often though. Hotels don't like it when you call them night clubs.

Is it so bizarre that Nigeria's great and good paid the equivalent of $640 per head for a concert? You can talk about the poverty in Nigeria, and you can talk about the great rift between the rich and the poor, but what you mustn't do is suggest that $640 is too much for able Nigerians to pay for a concert. The people that went may not even have noticed. 

The value of anything is what any man is willing to pay for it. How much does it cost to get a pregnant Kim Kardashian to work a Nigerian event for 45 minutes and 45 seconds? $500,000. You can argue that it oughtn't, but that's a different story. 

If you have a problem with the world and the way things are then wage war upon the world and society, and shake the earth with your proclamations. Confront the issue at hand. Don't let the extent of your narrative be $500,000, Kim Kardashian and whether or not she is worthy of our followership. 


7 comments:

Imoteda said...

You know after the whole Kimmy Cakes in Nigeria thing was brought to my attention I made two comments
1) i would like to be Kim Kardashian when i grow up (sans sex tape, my parents would disown a certain Imoteda)
2) People need to stop making it seem like she ripped us off and capitalize on all this free publicity.

I agree with your stance on the international coverage generated but as a non Nigerian I wouldn't want to come here because all I see is a bunch of Nigerians bitching about a celebrity who came here and didn't perform. No, I don't want to go to a nation full of whiners, thank you. Though she really does look so uncomfortable in every single picture I have seen that it would be impossible to really use them for promo. Like she's scared she's going to receive a free gift of HIV if she comes in contact with anyone. It's awkward to see

Also she didn't get paid $500k (it was likely less than half of that but those who paid and keeping annoyingly silent on this)

AND what upsets me the most about this is that she actually stole ALL the shine from an AMAZING concert. There were Cirque Du Soliel dancers in Nigeria!!! How is this not more noteworthy that Kim Kardashian???

I admire the Kardashian Family's business acumen. They've literally cashed in on Kim's looks and Ray J's camera and turned it into a multi million dollar legacy. It's admirable. That being said if my daughter turned out like Kim Kardashian, I'm disowning her, right after I shave her head.

Jen Juma said...

While I think she's not worth $500k, I have no problem when them bring her in. If Nigerians had problems with her morals, then invisible hand will have done its work and Eko Hotel would've been empty. Shebi Dare wanted to prove 'levels' after the Amber Rose fiasco? He kinda did. A week later, we're still talking about the event. Maybe now, our tourism industry will get a boost. #wishes

Nigerian girls adore Kardashians (maybe next to their Pastors) so I can't think of any personality of Kimmy's calibre who could have done this. Nigerians want people they won't run into at Shoprite or Sip. All the local prospects are too accessible and have 'chopped' enough insults on bellanaija for being pure water (think Uti, Toolz, Toke etc) and couldn't have possible generated as much buzz as Kimmy coming.

@Imoteda, she looked so uncomfortable. Perhaps scared of kidnappers. See all the security around her? At least her bff (abi Khloe's bff) Malika looked like she was having fun last summer when she came o Lagos. Even Chris Brown sef

I want to see who Dare will bring in next year though... Keri Hilson did great when she was in Abuja so maybe someone with talent next time.

Jen Juma said...

***typos galore

Unknown said...

One needs a well-rounded worldview (excuse the pun) to recognize and appreciate the nuances, where there are nuances, of events. Unfortunately, most of our opinion peddlers are unapologetically one-dimensional.

Afam said...

Nail on the head as always.

Happy Days

Afam said...

Well rounded views seem particularly rare now adays.

Happy Days

o a onoaniye said...

Kim is dam sharp, Nigerians still suffer from a terrible post independence colonial mentality, it is what it is,

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