Kim Kardashian and her family’s empire is falling apart. Blame it on her 72-day marriage to New Jersey Nets star on Kris Humphries – it was the single event that made the public say enough is enough. So much so that a Kardashian boycott website was erected and quickly garnered hundreds and thousands of petitioners. The current number stands at 600,000. It was reported today that the founder Frank Basti is a convicted felon who served time in federal prison for mail fraud. Either way, Frank made his point clear enough for brands to listen.
Kim, her mother Kris Jenner and the remaining Kardashian clan were set to publish their own tabloid magazine. It’s an insane idea but speaks to the very machine that has built the $65 million Kardashian empire – control from all corners. It is the control plus the falling brand that damaged the deal. According to the New York Post a source revealed that AMI, American Media Inc., the group that owns the National Enquirer and The Star refused to bend to Jenner’s ridiculous demands.
“AMI chief David Pecker made it clear that there was no way he was going to tell his editors what stories they could and couldn’t do.” Kim also lost her endorsement with Skechers shoes when she was replaced by a dog. The failed deals don’t end there, the Kardashians also lost their deal with Mattel for their own Barbie.
A source for the company confirmed to MTV News, “As popular as the Kardashian sisters are, at this point in time we are not manufacturing Barbie-branded Kardashian dolls.”
In the midst of several lucrative deals falling through, GAP has responded to Kim K’s lawsuit. Kim is requesting nearly $20 million in damages from the brand when Old Navy used Melissa Molinaro in their commercial. The Kardashian attorney asserted that Molinaro caused confusion in the marketplace and damaged the family’s reputation. Sadly for Kim and her fiasco wedding, GAP is fighting back with a slew of evidence that Kim damaged her reputation without the help of Melissa.
Could this trouble spell the beginning of the end of the Kardashian empire and maybe, just maybe the slow down of reality TV?
