Ellis McGinley – Copy Editor
After 14 years, hit reality show “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” 20th season will be its last. The news was announced in a series of joint Instagram posts by figures at the center of the family, including Kris Jenner, Kim Kardashian-West, Khloe Kardashian, Kourtney Kardashian and Kylie Jenner.
According to CNN, the show premiered in 2007 and rapidly built an empire. It has since spawned two mobile games, “Kim Kardashian: Hollywood” and “Kendall & Kylie,” beauty brands, fashion lines and 13 spin-off shows. Cumulatively, the five sisters have over 550 million followers on Instagram alone.
The family has become a pop culture staple, whether loved or hated—although some students have not paid much attention to them.
“I just don’t like them,” said art education major Sara Laraeu, a freshman. “I don’t know too much. I just get bad vibes from them all the time.”
Special Education Major Gina Barron, a freshman, said “I think they’re only famous ‘cause of Kim Kardashian. There was like, a whole show, and then they were like ‘let’s do makeup.”
The Kardashians have put out two decades’ worth of content; they have been on television for as long as many college students have been alive, if not longer. Buzzfeed News reported that their ratings have been slipping since the 15th season, reaching lows of approximately 809,000 viewers; nothing compared to their peak of two million.
“I didn’t even know it was ending,” said graphic design major Kyra Catubig, a senior. “I feel like they have so many spin-offs. Sometimes I forget the show is still going on.”
In an oft-quoted 2011 episode of the show, Kourtney Kardashian reminds her sister Kim “there’s people that are dying,” as the latter flounders in a flawlessly blue pool, distressed over losing a diamond earring. Years before, Kim was criticized by her mother, Kris Jenner, for taking selfies while another sister was going to prison. All of these scenes have also been used by people on Tiktok due to the popularity of the show and people in it. The Kardashians have also been a part of events such as the Met Gala, an event for celebrities to wear designer clothing for the night, an example from the met Gala would be Kim Kardashians “wet look” at the 2019 Met Gala. This look also brought controversy for the Kardashians with her small waist size due to the corset she was wearing.
“They are a bunch of exploitative capitalists,” said theater major Nick Moran, sophomore.
The Kardashians have also endured intense outside criticism throughout their time in the spotlight. They have created controversy in scandals like Kylie Jenner confessing to lip fillers, alleged cultural appropriation in their choice of hairstyle and Kim Kardashian’s 72-day marriage to athlete Kris Humphries.
Undeclared Rain Iaccarino, a freshman, puts it plainly: “They’re really annoying.”