He was quickly corrected by the Innocence Project.
No matter what the public’s stance is on the Kardashians, Kim Kardashian West’s prison reform efforts, along with those she’s partnered with, have resulted in the freedom of dozens of former inmates. While she has used her public platforms to appeal to politicians, behind-the-scenes Kim has been working diligently on behalf of those she feels deserve a second chance at life.
Recently, Kim was featured on the TODAY show to speak about Rodney Reed’s stay of execution. The death row inmate was just days away from being executed for a murder that many believe he didn’t commit, and in the 23rd hour, it was announced that his death at the hands of the state would be halted. The Innocence Project has spearheaded this campaign on behalf of Reed, and other activists, including Kim and Shaun King, have jumped on board to aid in their efforts.
Following Kim’s television interview where she spoke about meeting with Reed, someone posed a question to Shaun on his Instagram page. “Why was Kim Kardashian on the Today show being interviewed about this and not you?” the person asked, to which Shaun replied, “Because she likes being on TV and I like doing the work.”
The public believed that the social justice warrior was shading the reality star, so after being corrected by both Reed’s family and the Innocence Project themselves, Shaun clarified his comments about Kim. He shared that he was informed Kim was definitely working behind-the-scenes, and although he didn’t apologize for his remarks, but he did write: “Yesterday a lot of you asked me why @kimkardashian was on TV so much talking about Rodney Reed getting a stay of execution instead of me, and I said something flippant to the effect of ‘Because she likes being on TV and I like doing the work.’ That was only partly true. She does like being on TV and I do like doing the work, but my friends at the @innocenceproject let me know today that behind the scenes Kim is really doing the work. And I’m glad about that. Also, I don’t think she’s clout-chasing. I was fully convinced that she’s sincere in her efforts. Rodney’s family told me so themselves. I just wanted to make this clear.” Watch Kim’s TODAY clip below.
