Kim Kardashian, 42, returned to the controversy over her comments in an interview

She claimed that she was referring only to people who wanted to work for her

Kardashian described how applicants allegedly had a long list of demands

The reality star was lambasted for her initial comments amid a tight labor market

Social media users also blasted her privilege and extreme wealth

Kim Kardashian delved into her controversial comments earlier this year about a supposed lack of work ethic among Americans in a new interview.

In an appearance on the Angie Martinez IRL Podcast that was posted Monday, the 42-year-old SKIMS star reacted to the controversy spawned by her polarizing Variety interview from March.

In the original interview, which also featured her sisters and mother, the billionaire complained that, ‘It seems like nobody wants to work these days,’ while sharing advice for ‘women in business’: ‘Get your f***ing a** up and work.’

The comments were widely lambasted, but Kim claimed to Martinez that she was responding to a bevy of applicants hoping to work for her who weren’t willing to put in the hard work to succeed.

Damage control: Kim Kardashian, 42, defended her comments telling women in business to ‘get your f***ing a** up and work’ in her interview for the Angie Martinez IRL Pocast, released Monday

Kim initially looked defensive after Martinez brought up the gaffe, saying, ‘I hear you’ and calling it ‘a weird one.’

‘The context in that was I had just been doing interviews for the last few weeks on people to work in my office. Everyone had all of these… “You know, well, I only want these hours, I want Fridays off, I don’t want to do this, I don’t want to do this, so I’ll only do this,”‘ she claimed while recalling what applicants allegedly said to her.

According to Kim, the demands and requests were something she wasn’t used to before she became famous and ultra-wealthy.

‘I come from a time when we just grinded and everyone that I’m super close with that has built our businesses together,’ she continued.

Outraged: In March, Kim complained in a Variety interview featuring her sisters and mother that ‘It seems like nobody wants to work these days,’ which was widely mocked and criticized; pictured for Variety

 

IRL experience: Kim said she was only speaking about people who applied to work with her but had numerous hard-to-accommodate demands and requests

Kim described what her ‘workaholic mindset’ was like when she was younger.

‘We would just kind of do anything, any job. Get it all together, even if it wasn’t our job, we’d ask for something we just get it done,’ she said. ‘Coming from like that workaholic mindset, I think I just came off of all those interviews being like, “Damn like no one really wants to work.” Everyone had all these like provisions of what they wanted in their job.’

However, the reality star thought many of her critics misconstrued what she said and lumped her comments in with many people who had complained about labor shortages during the heart of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

‘I think people also took it like it was coming out of Covid,’ she theorized. ‘A lot of people that really wanted to work didn’t have the opportunities to work, and might not have had the opportunities that I have had and so I saw that and I was really mindful of that.

‘Sometimes people do really want to work their a** off and they’re not given those opportunities and they’re not in the position to do that even if they really want to, so I saw that and I’m super super sensitive to that and if I say something… I just wasn’t generalizing it for a bunch of people, it was just my specific experience,’ she added.

 

Conditions: ‘Everyone had all of these… “You know, well, I only want these hours, I want Fridays off, I don’t want to do this, I don’t want to do this, so I’ll only do this,”‘ she claimed

Old school: ‘I come from a time when we just grinded,’ Kim continued, describing her ‘workaholic mindset.’ But she acknowledged that many people wanted to work but couldn’t, while claiming her comments weren’t directed at them

Kim’s defensive interview arrived on Monday, just as she gave her fans a glimpse into her stunning holiday preparation when she shared some of her holiday family portraits to social media.

The Boxing Day post featured her four children — North, nine; Saint, seven; Chicago, four; and Psalm, three — while some photos also included her niece Dream Kardashian.

Notably absent from the family photos was Kim’s ex-husband Kanye West, 45, who has publicly harassed the reality icon since her divorce filing.

The post comes as Kim tearfully opened up about her experiences of trying to coparent with the same person lambasting her online for months on end while speaking with Martinez.

 

United front: Kim shared some of the adorable holiday photos she snapped with her children at her family’s Christmas Eve bash on Monday

Kim looked glamorous in an off-kilter silver sequined dress, which revealed that the photos were taken at her family’s Christmas Eve party.

The look featured an diagonal neckline that highlighted her cleavage, along with one thick strap attached to the lower side, while the higher side featured a more modest strap.

The dress reached to the ground, hiding her footwear.

Kim ditched the dyed-blond hair she has sported in recent months in favor of her natural raven tresses, which were parted down the middle and styled in thick waves running down her shoulders.

 

The whole gang: The reality star was joined by North, nine; Saint, seven; Chicago, four; and Psalm, three, along with her niece Dream Kardashian, six

 

Joining her was her oldest daughter North, who looked chic in a darker gray suit with bellbottoms that was covered in reflective sequins.

She also wore thick Cuban link chains around her neck and had her hair styled in thick red-tinted box braids.

Kim’s younger daughter Chicago, wore a short dress that was also covered in sequins, along with tall black boots.

Her oldest son Saint looked more casual in a black Prada shirt with matching pants and red-and-black sneakers.

His little brother Psalm sported similar braids and wore a gray button-up shirt and matching pants, also with sneakers.

Joining in on some of the photos was Dream, who is the daughter of Kim’s reclusive brother Rob Kardashian and his ex Blac Chyna.

She looked cute in a ruched gray–blue dress with a fabric flower stitched over her shoulder.

Like mother, like daughter: Kim stunned in a silver sequined dress, while North complemented her in a reflective gray suit with flared slacks

 

Just the two: The two held hands while looking somber in one solo photo

Having a blast: But Kim flashed a peace sign and North mugged for the camera in a playful follow-up

 

Spitting image: Chicago was dressed in a silver sequined mini dress like her mother

Out of the picture: Missing from the family photos was Kim’s ex Kanye West. She opened up about the difficulties of co-parenting with him on a podcast posted Monday; seen in 2020

Kim capped off the post with some fun photos, including one of her flashing a peace sign while posing with a mugging North

The three young girls also got in on the action with a photo that didn’t feature Kim.

Kim and North rounded out Monday with a playful post to the TikTok account that they jointly run.

The Kardashians star looked chic in an all-black ensemble with chunky wraparound sunglasses, while North was too cool for school with a backwards black trucker hat to cover her braids.

The two posed while Kim pointed at her daughter, before North took the lead and lip synced to a brief segment of Peezy’s song 2 Million Up.

 

Having fun: Kim and North rounded out Monday with a playful post to the TikTok account that they jointly run

 

Nailed it: The two posed while Kim pointed at her daughter, before North took the lead and lip synced to a brief segment of Peezy’s song 2 Million Up

Earlier, Kim was seen breaking down into tears as she discussed what it has been like co-parenting with her ex Kanye West.

The shapewear mogul — who recently shared a sweet throwback snap featuring mom Kris Jenner and her sisters — appeared on the Angie Martinez IRL Podcast on Monday, where she was overcome with emotion as she talked about sharing four children with the 45-year-old rapper.

She explained that she has tried to shield the kids from the public trials and tribulations the former power couple have endured but began to tear up as she compared the lives of her children to hers being raised by late attorney Robert Kardashian.

Kim was crying  as she said: ‘I had the best dad. I don’t want to get emotional. It has just been a day for me. It’s hard. S*** like co-parenting it’s really f***ing hard you know.’

Angie, 51, said that Kim was not co-parenting with the ‘quietest, easiest’ former partner.

Kim replied: ‘Yeah, but I had the best dad and I had the best memories and the greatest experience and that’s all I want for my kids. As long as they can have that, that’s what I would want for them, you know.

‘So like if they don’t know things that are being said or what’s happening in the world like why would I ever bring that energy to them. You know, that’s like real heavy, heavy grown up s***. That they are not ready to, like, deal with.

‘And when they are we will have those conversations and I’ll be so prepared but until then I will do anything to keep their life as normal as possible.’

 

Kim began crying as she said: ‘I had the best dad. I don’t want to get emotional. It has just been a day for me. It’s hard. S*** like co-parenting it’s really f***ing hard you know’

 

Points have been made: Angie, 51, said that Kim was not co-parenting with the ‘quietest, easiest’ former partner

 

Kim said: ‘Yeah, but I had the best dad and I had the best memories and the greatest experience and that’s all I want for my kids. As long as they can have that, that’s what I would want for them, you know,’ she is seen in a throwback image from the 1990s with Robert

Kim talked about how she has shielded her four children from the drama — both publicly and privately — between the two A-list parents.

She explained: ‘I definitely protected him and I still will. In the eyes of my kids – for my kids.

‘So in my home, my kids don’t anything that goes on in the outside world and I’ve managed to- I’m holding on by a thread and I know I’m so close to that not happening, but while it’s still that way, I will protect that to the end of the Earth as long as I can.’

Kim continued by saying: ‘So like if they don’t know things that are being said or what’s happening in the world like why would I ever bring that energy to them. You know, that’s like real heavy, heavy grown up s***. That they are not ready to, like, deal with’

Kim has truly done all that she can to keep her children away from the drama and even calls her ‘best friends’ the teachers at their school who keep her in the loop of what the kids are talking about.

She revealed: ‘None of the [other] kids have ever said anything to my kids, When stuff’s going down I protect stuff as far as the TVs and the content that’s on. It is [a full-time job].’

She got candid as she admitted: ‘[It’s] worth it because of course I want to disassociate in specific thoughts and things being said because that’s not me, but at the same time in my home, I could be going through something but if we’re riding to school and they want to listen to their dad’s music, no matter what is going on in the world, I have to have that smile on my face and blast his music and singalong and act like nothing’s wrong.

‘As soon as I drop them off I can have a good cry.’

She said: ”So in my home, my kids don’t anything that goes on in the outside world and I’ve managed to- I’m holding on by a thread and I know I’m so close to that not happening, but while it’s still that way, I will protect that to the end of the Earth as long as I can’

Last month, Kim and Kanye finally settled their divorce after an ugly public battle that raged on for almost two years since they split.

The pair have now come to an accord on the custody of their four kids, parenting plans and division of their multimillion dollar real estate portfolio.

Kardashian will get getting $200,000 in child support monthly, TMZ reported on November 29 after reviewing court docs. West, 45, and Kardashian will share joint custody and have ‘equal access’ to their four kids.

‘None of the [other] kids have ever said anything to my kids’: Kim has truly done all that she can to keep her children away from the drama and even calls her ‘best friends’ the teachers at their school who keep her in the loop of what the kids are talking about

Insiders told TMZ that Kardashian will have custody of the children most of the time.

Under terms of the agreement, West will be responsible for 50 percent of the educational and security expenses for the four kids.

West and Kardashian agreed to attend mediation should they have a parenting disagreement, according to the outlet. Should one not attend the session, the attending parent will get to make the decision on the topic at hand.

Kim married Kanye in Florence, Italy in 2014, and welcomed four children with him. She ultimately filed to end the marriage in February 2021.

Moving on: Last month, Kim and Kanye finally settled their divorce after an ugly public battle that raged on for almost two years since they split