What People Are Getting Wrong This Week: Kim Kardashian Debunks Psychics
In a culture overflowing with absurd beliefs, an unlikely hero of rational thought has emerged: reality TV star Kim Kardashian. Kim expressed a healthy dose of skepticism toward psychics in a recent TikTok video : If you don’t follow reality TV stars, Kim K.’s recent life story/plot shows her trying to become a lawyer. She interned in the field and apparently studied diligently. She also consulted psychics, tea-ground readers, and the like, and concluded that she would pass the California bar exam. But, unfortunately, that didn’t happen .
“Psychics are pathological liars” — Kim Kardashian
“All these damn psychics we’ve been seeing and obsessing over are complete bullshit,” Kardashian told her 10 million TikTok followers. “They all, maybe four of them, told me I’d pass the exam. So they’re all pathological liars. Don’t believe anything they say.”
According to a 2024 poll, about 20% of Americans adore the Kardashians , and about 26% believe in psychics . I have nothing but a hunch to confirm this, but I’d wager that the “Kardashian fan” and “psychic believer” circles on the American Venn diagram largely overlap. Kardashian isn’t preaching to skeptics; she’s appealing to true believers, just as she once did.
Kardashian has a reputation for herself, given her long history of interacting with mediums and psychics, and there’s something particularly compelling about someone who’s motivated to succeed. For Kim Kardashian, this wasn’t some meaningless test; she was asking about something important to her, and she did so without skepticism.
Where Kim Kardashian’s psychics got it wrong
An experienced psychic tries to avoid predictions that can be proven true or false. A medium might say, “Your father is in heaven and is very proud of you,” but if they want to stay in business, they won’t say, “Your father says the stock is in the attic, in a green chest,” because once you check the chest—if there even is a chest or an attic—it’s all over.
Without realizing it, Kardashian put her psychics in a difficult position. By asking them point-blank whether she’d pass the bar exam, Kardashian forced them to make a dichotomy. Understandably, they unanimously settled on “you will pass,” because that’s what she wanted to hear. “Your fate is still unclear!” was too vague, and “You’ll fail, girl” would likely lose you an invitation to the mansion. But I’m surprised no one added, “I can’t give you an exact timeframe, but you’ll be a lawyer in the future.” I would have said that. (I’m ready for psychic readings.)
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go back to being aware that I don’t know anything about what Kim Kardashian does.