8 Times The Kardashians Strategically Used A Scandal To Promote Their Own Show
They know how to get people talking.
Tinseltown / Eugene Powers / Shutterstock Many people on social media love to joke that "the devil works hard but Kris Jenner works harder," and despite the level of humor behind the statement, sometimes it might actually be correct.
Kris Jenner is both a mother to all of her super-famous children, and a manager, but when it comes to PR stunts, Jenner is definitely a mastermind behind the scenes.
Throughout the 20 seasons of "Keeping Up With The Kardashians," certain dramatic incidents have happened to the Kardashian family that has always led to heightened viewership on their reality show, which definitely isn't a coincidence.
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Now, with the looming premiere of their new Hulu show, "The Kardashians," it seems these staged PR stunts will probably continue.
Fans of the famous family are convinced that some of the major Kardashian drama that has made headlines throughout the years might just be carefully orchestrated measures to make sure they pull in viewers to watch their show, and it might actually be true.
Here are the 5 biggest Kardashian PR stunts used in order to promote their own show.
1. Tristan Thompson cheating on Khloe Kardashian while she was pregnant.
Back in 2018, while Khloe had been close to giving birth, Tristan Thompson was caught in an infamous cheating scandal after being spotted out with strip club worker Lani Blaire.
In video footage, Tristan and Lani were caught kissing, and she was also spotted arriving at Tristan's hotel room at the Four Seasons.
The Kardashian's kept pretty hush about it until the show dropped, meaning we were all waiting to see their raw reactions.
In a clip from 'KUWTK,' the entire family had conveniently been filming when they found out about the cheating scandal, their reactions caught for the show.
It felt like an extremely deliberate move, especially considering how much viewership for the episode devoted to all of the drama skyrocketed.
2. The infamous Kardashian sister feud.
Everyone definitely remembers when Kim and Kourtney were embroiled in a fight caught on camera and aired on 'KUWTK.'
There was also the clip of Kim calling Kourtney "uninteresting,' and of course the moment when the two sisters got into a physical altercation.
However, during the episode that premiered their feud, Kim, Khloe, and Kourtney hopped on Twitter and seemed to continue their bickering, in what was probably a small PR stunt to get more views for the show.
It seemed almost too good to be true that their interaction on Twitter wasn't deliberate, and probably a move orchestrated by momager Kris Jenner.
3. Kim Kardashian's controversial "work harder" advice.
Kim Kardashian made headlines everywhere when she tried to give advice to women in business during a Vanity Fair interview, telling people to "get your f***king ass up and work."
The advice wasn't taken as smoothly as Kim would've liked, probably, and she became the recipient of backlash across social media.
However, many people thought that her comment was on purpose and had been meant to spark outrage so people would tune in to their new Hulu reality show. Which, if that's the case, it definitely worked.
4. Kylie Jenner’s lips.
In 2015, Kylie was the subject of controversy amid rumors that she had cosmetically enhanced her lips.
The “Kylie Cosmetics” founder spent months evading questions and lying about her lip fillers, only adding to the buzz.
This worked to her advantage, however, as she later admitted to the procedure in an episode of “KUWTK.”
This scandal was also the makings of her career as she would later launch her billion-dollar company off the back of the interest in her lip products.
5. Kim Kardashian's relationship with Pete Davidson.
Back when Kim and Pete were first photographed hanging out in Pete's home borough, Staten Island, fans were extremely convinced that their relationship was simply a PR move.
At the time, fans knew that the Kardashian family had been actively filming for their new Hulu show since cameras were seen at Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker's engagement dinner.
However, TMZ had reported that while Kim and Pete were out and about in New York City, they actually weren't being filmed.
Despite not being filmed for the new Hulu show, in the new trailer, Pete's name is dropped, meaning Kim will most likely be talking about her budding relationship with the SNL comedian.
6. The Tristan Thompson and Jordyn Woods scandal.
Just a few weeks from the season 16 premiere of "KUWTK," Tristan and Jordyn were embroiled in a cheating scandal, after attending a party together where the two shared a kiss.
The drama ended up in the family completely ostracizing Woods, and Khloe even going on an entire Twitter rant where she put Woods on blast.
However, during the thick of the scandal, the Kardashians simply happened to be filming their reactions, which they must've known would cause people to tune in to their show just to see more of the drama.
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Woods was even asked during her interview on 'Red Table Talk,' if the entire incident was just a giant PR stunt to promote 'KUWTK.'
"I wish I could say this was a publicity stunt, but this is my real life. Real people are hurting. It’s been real. It’s been real," Woods responded.
7. Rob Kardashian and Blac Chyna's relationship.
It’s hard to recall now that Rob Kardashian is rarely in the spotlight, but there was once a time when he was at the center of one of his family’s many scandals.
In January 2016, fans couldn’t believe their eyes when Rob began dating Blac Chyna. At the time, Rob's sister Kylie was dating Tyga – Chyna’s ex with whom she shares a son. So, needless to say, fans were shocked.
Not only did the scandal become a plotline on “KUWTK,” the famous family also used the attention to launch a spin-off titled “Rob & Chyna.”
The series was greenlit mere months after the couple’s relationship began and followed them as they welcomed their daughter, Dream.
8. Kylie Jenner’s secret pregnancy.
In 2017 and 2018, fans of the famous family were shocked when the youngest of the family seemed to disappear from the public eye for months before announcing that she had secretly given birth to her daughter, Stormi.
While there had been some rumors that Kylie was pregnant, the makeup mogul managed to avoid being photographed with a bump or even giving away a concrete clue that she was expecting.
Kylie was still filming her own show, “Life Of Kylie,” when she found out she was pregnant so she had every opportunity to make the reveal early on.
However, the shock birth announcement served a key purpose, whether intentional or not.
Fans would have no choice but to tune into the family’s show to get the backstory on Kylie's secret pregnancy.
Nia Tipton is a writer living in Brooklyn. She covers pop culture, social justice issues, and trending topics. Follow her on Instagram.