When Kim Kardashian's Harvard Business School Lecture Sparked Controversy: "Must Be Desperate for Speaker"

On January 20th, 2023, Kim Kardashian spoke at Harvard Business School. That talk definitely set the internet ablaze. The reality TV star and businesswoman posted about her visit on social media the very next day. She called that event her "bucket list dream." Kardashian addressed a course called "Moving Beyond Direct to Consumer" along with her SKIMS business partner, Jens Grede. She wrote, "The class's assignment was to learn about @skims, so my partner Jens and I spoke about our marketing, our challenges and our greatest wins."

SKIMS, Kardashian's shapewear company, has been hugely successful. Launched in 2019, it was valued at $3.2 billion as of early 2022. This is just one of Kardashian's many business ventures, which include beauty lines, a private equity fund, and her ongoing reality TV career. Some students appreciated the opportunity to learn from Kardashian. One Harvard Business School student named Liz told NBC10 Boston, "Just to learn from someone who has built such a successful business was really exciting and I think having the privacy of no cameras in the room, being able to have that candid conversation was special too. I think a lot of people don’t respect her as someone who is co-running a multibillion-dollar company," as per Yahoo.

However, not everyone was pleased with Kardashian's Harvard presence. Some individuals questioned Harvard's standards, with one Instagram user saying, "What happened to you, Harvard." Another person said sarcastically, "Harvard Business 101: getting born into wealth and becoming a celebrity through some BS TV show. What a great and interesting guest lecturer to pick!" On Twitter, the criticism persisted. One person commented, "Harvard Business School must be desperate for speakers. They are taking the low fruit for sure."

But Kardashian had her defenders too. Many fans praised her business acumen and success. Celebrities like Alicia Keys and Paris Hilton cheered her on, with Hilton using her classic catchphrase: "That's hot." Silicon Valley entrepreneur Jason Calcanis pointed out Kardashian's extraordinary success, tweeting that she "is more successful than 99.99% of graduates from HBS — but would have never been accepted to attend the program. Tells you everything you need to know." It's worth noting that Kardashian's visit wasn't part of a full Harvard course on SKIMS, as some initially thought. She spoke at a "Short Intensive Program," a brief, non-credit elective offered to MBA students, as per Buzz Feed.

Matt Higgins, who had invited Kardashian to speak, defended her appearance. He stated, "People know Kim from 'Keeping Up with the Kardashians,' but I think her experience as a phenomenal entrepreneur is way underexposed." Higgins commended Kardashian's deep understanding of her business, stating that she "knew her numbers inside and out" and had "thoughtful reasoning about her go-to-market strategy," as per Today. Despite her achievements, Kardashian acknowledged being nervous. In her reality program, she said, "The top business minds in the country have lectured here. I can't believe I'm doing this. I'm really nervous."