I love Kim Kardashian. And I’m not ashamed. by: Ashley Reynolds (@bashinla)

I pride myself on being an upfront person. When it comes to sharing general interests or giving my 2-cents on the latest celebrity gossip, I’m definitely not one to hold my tongue – even when I know that my stance may be uncommon or controversial.

Office conversations are usually kept on the surface – you know, super p.c. and mainly around television and entertainment. Everything is pretty much fair game for debate and criticism except all things Beyoncé. Sly comments are usually made about my obsessiveness, but for the most part no one steps out of line.

Now that’s Beyoncé. Everyone loves Beyoncé. And even if they don’t, no one rags on her too much in public.

Kim Kardashian is another story.

I adore Kim K, and have for years. You can only imagine the type of hell that came upon me when I came clean. Why people have so much disdain towards this woman is beyond me. Sure, she can be a little extra sometimes. And of course there were instances where I felt like she was being less than sincere, but when did the public hate for Kim get this bad?

She’s never gone on a crazy, racially motivated Twitter rant. She’s never shot and killed an unarmed black man. She’s never extorted a ton of money, or robbed the elderly out of their retirement savings. Yet, everyone treats her as if she committed some heinous offense against humanity.

Since when has wearing cute clothes and monopolizing off your beauty become such a taboo?

“She’s a hoe!”

How. Do. You. Know? What type of inside scoop have you been provided with? Or better yet – what’s your body count? Glass house, people. Glass houses.

“She’s not a role model!”

For whom? Young girls? Do you think you slut shaming or throwing darts at someone’s character should be modeled behaviors for young women?

“She’s not even that pretty!”

Lies. You. Tell.

Again I ask, what has Kim done to make people dislike her so much? She comes from a wealthy family and had a mother driven enough to discover unconventional ways to create an empire.

“But.. What is she famous for?”

Breathing. The Kardashians are famous for just being themselves. They make money by purely living, and although I’m totally envious of their luxurious careers, I can’t bring myself to join the gang of anti-Kardashians. Maybe it’s my own self-esteem / confidence, but I don’t get off on bringing someone else down.

I’m not saying that she’s the niftiest, most enlightened woman in the world – but she’s definitely far from a bigot.

So, why so much disgust?

It sounds like a bit of hater-ation to me.

Ashley Reynolds is a young, single mom residing in Los Angeles, by way of Detroit. She blogs about her life’s experiences on her personal site, bashinla.com, and is also a contributor for HipHopBattle.com where she writes on topics ranging from racism in America to Hip-Hop “Think” pieces. You can find her on instagram and twitter @bashinla, and keep up with she and her 22-month-old son by watching her weekly recap vlogs on YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/bashinlavlog.