Kim Kardashian Slammed For Being Featured Speaker At Summit About Justice Reform
Kim Kardashian has been tapped to be a featured speaker at a Criminal Justice Reform summit hosted by Variety and Rolling Stone, but some people on social media aren’t happy about it. On Twitter, Kardashian faced backlash after the news went public because many feel that she has only been included because she’s a celebrity.
“Cuz Kim Kardashian lends a whole lot of credibility to the Summit,” a Twitter user wrote.
“@Variety is only interested in this issue as long as the line between ‘celebrity’ and ‘expert’ can be blurred,” wrote another Twitter user. “That’s what a profit-driven media is good for, folks.”
Variety reports that Kim Kardashian will join media personality Van Jones to keynote the summit. While some doubt her credibility, Kardashian championed the case of Alice Marie Johnson, a woman who spent over 20 years in prison for a non-violent drug offense.
Johnson was released in June of this year after Kim Kardashian met with President Trump to discuss her case.
As Harper’s Bazaar reports, the former inmate was previously serving a life sentence for her crime and she had no chance for parole. It was her first offense.
Variety and Rolling Stone announce Criminal Justice Reform Summit with @VanJones68, @KimKardashian, and @MeekMill https://t.co/sww7I3DK0j pic.twitter.com/5lyORekFHg
— Variety (@Variety) October 26, 2018
Kardashian has said that she heard about Johnson’s case on Twitter. She later asked her attorney, renowned LA-based lawyer Shawn Holley, what she could do to help. According to Harper’s Bazaar, Kim also spoke to Trump’s son-in-law and adviser, Jared Kushner. One of Kushner’s current projects includes the Prison Reform and Redemption Act, legislation that’s meant to reduce the number of reoccurring offenders in the system and to help released prisoners to become productive members of society.
While Van Jones, Kim Kardashian, and Meek Mill are being touted as the headliners of the conference, there are other celebrities in the lineup as well. Get Out and Girls actress Allison Williams will be a panelist as well as Freddy Brathwaite, aka Fab 5 Freddy, among others, Variety reports. Two governors will also be there: John Bel Edwards of Louisiana, and Mary Fallin of Oklahoma.
Some Twitter users also railed against Fallin’s inclusion, citing the governor’s advocacy of the death penalty as one of the reasons why she shouldn’t be a panelist.
“You’re seriously having Mary Fallin, a death penalty obsessed governor who has fought to keep details of what’s in lethal injection cocktails secret, as a panelist?” a Twitter user wrote. “Everything about this is a mockery of real reform.”
Variety and Rolling Stone’s Criminal Justice Reform Summit will take place on November 14 in Los Angeles.
