If you’re a regular listener of NPR’s Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me quiz show, you are probably one of many who are currently enraged that the network invited Kim Kardashian on to be a guest. The noted author, mother, wife, television star, and media entity appeared on the show and was regarded as “not a great guest,” but gracious by ombudsman Elizabeth Jensen, with a few funny answers to boot. Others were not as nice as compiled by The Washington Post:
“My first impulse after her introduction on the show was to question the meaning of life,” one commenter wrote.
Another listener angrily informed NPR’s ombudsman, Elizabeth Jensen, that they found the show “so misguided and offensive, I fear I will never be able to listen again.”
“I think three horsemen of the apocalypse are now fully mounted,” a third commented.
You can read through more over at the NPR web site, but it goes further than that. Many listeners have now flooded NPR with complaints through the week and have threatened to cut their support. This has forced numerous folks involved with NPR to take a step back and analyze the situation, in typical NPR form. Emmanuel Hapsis from KQED in San Francisco noted that listeners and Kardashian seem to be two sides of the same coin according to The Washington Post. Some even viewing pop culture as a “badge of honor” to show importance:
She meticulously crafts how the public sees her (in full face, at all times, mostly) and what they find out about her. In this same way, the people leaving these incensed comments or posting about how they wish Kim would just go away on their Facebook pages are also maintaining some idea of themselves that they want to project or would like to believe about themselves. Kim puts beauty first, others lead with intelligence, but, in the end, it’s ultimately the same thing: a facade.
I think I’d like to go more with the third comment up above instead. The horsemen are coming and they’re ready to cause trouble, ride in limousines, and give rides on Space Mountain all night long. Also the thought of Ric Flair riding a pale horse out of the sky, pretty cool until he asks to borrow some cash from you.
But yeah, Kardashian. On NPR. Who would’ve thought it?
(Via The Washington Post / Time)