Kim Kardashian assured me — twice — that she is not a man hater. But as she explained, during our video call interview, playing a tenacious divorce lawyer going through a separation in Ryan Murphy’s “All’s Fair” wasn’t without fallout.
Through a pre-filtered Zoom screen, Kardashian said that playing Allura Grant killed her “romance joy.” An occupational hazard of portraying marital combat for television. She did, after all, draw real blood while sparring with her onscreen ex.
“There was a time when I was fighting with my husband [in the show], and I had to hit him,” said Kardashian, flanked by co-stars Glenn Close and Niecy Nash. “[Murphy] was like, ‘Just go for it! Go harder! Just hit him!’ So I did — and I cut my knuckles on his back! I was bleeding!”
Kardashian is no stranger to melodrama — or a fight. She confirmed as much after Nash playfully responded: “So you’re telling us right now that Kimberly Kardashian can fight?”
“Oh yeah!” Kardashian exclaimed.
There’s something disorienting about seeing Kardashian — who is currently awaiting the results of her bar exam, and has two widely televised marriages behind her — playing a divorce lawyer. The casting choice is so on the nose it practically qualifies as method acting. Then again, you can always count on a healthy dose of satire in the Ryan Murphy cinematic universe.
A master of cringe, comedy and camp, Murphy, creator of “American Horror Story” and “Glee,” assembled an “Avengers”-esque cast for the new Hulu Original series, available on Disney Plus.
Kardashian, Close, Nash, Naomi Watts and Teyana Taylor play a powerhouse team of female divorce attorneys who defect from a male-dominated firm to launch their own practice and square off against rival Sarah Paulson.
There are turbulent breakups, scandalous secrets and shifting allegiances — both in the courtroom and within their own ranks. Call it Women in the Workplace 101: gather a room of brilliant, driven women and someone, somewhere will inevitably try to tear them down. The show doesn’t shy away from that — it turns it into theatre.
In contrast to the drama, the cast quickly found chemistry off-screen, bonding over everything from wardrobe antics to old-school R&B playlists. “It was really amazing to come to work and be able to share so much off-screen about our personal lives and stuff that guys wouldn’t care about,” said Kardashian.
Besides a cameo on Murphy’s “American Horror Story: Delicate,” “All’s Fair” marks Kardashian’s first real acting job. She said on “The View” that Murphy wrote the role specifically for her, saying he was inspired by her law journey.
Predictably, the internet has called the casting a stunt — a marketing ploy to fuse Murphy’s prestige chaos TV with Kardashian’s billion-dollar brand. It very well could be, though her co-stars have been complimentary about her performance.
If it’s true that 10,000 hours of experience makes someone an expert, with 37 seasons of reality TV and 45 years living life as a Kardashian, Kim is a sensei of spectacle. There’s a strong argument to be made that no one knows the paradox of female ambition better than the entrepreneur and Skims founder, who has long been simultaneously admired and mocked for her success.
In that sense, watching her in this role feels almost poetic. Few understand how to command, manipulate and survive public scrutiny like Kim Kardashian. It’s fitting that her performance unfolds in a courtroom, another arena where perception equals power.
Heightened and glamorous, this legal fantasia feels equal parts “Big Little Lies” and “Chicago.” One teaser trailer struts to Britney Spears’s “Work B*tch,” another purrs to “Cell Block Tango.” There are over-the-top takedowns, martini-fuelled monologues, and enough walk-and-talks in sky-high heels to make Aaron Sorkin break a sweat.
The costumes are practically their own characters. Every power suit feels like a battle cry in couture form. There are sharp-shouldered jackets in lipstick red, pencil skirts slit just high enough to make HR nervous and a parade of oversized sunglasses that snap, ‘Don’t even think about it.’ Every courtroom looks like a runway and every divorce decree is delivered from a Birkin.
“We actually pulled a lot of stuff from my own closet,” said Kardashian. “I had Soki [Mak, a stylist] pull everything and we did mood boards. Ryan had a serious opinion about what each character should look like. Every time we had a look, we’d have to show it to him — fitting after fitting.” Sometimes that meant wearing “racy suits with a thong hanging out of the back.”
Close revealed that she first met Kardashian when she was searching for Murphy, and came upon her in that particular costume. “Kim’s back was to the camera and the first thing I saw was Kim there with her thong. I was like, ‘Whoa, OK,’” Close said, laughing.
Like everything Kardashian touches, “All’s Fair” blurs the line between performance and persona. Still, there’s something fitting about watching her stride through Murphy’s lacquered world, armed with stilettos and a closing statement. In this heightened reality, Kardashian feels right at home: glossy, fierce and one step ahead of the narrative. Consider justice served.
“All’s Fair” premieres Tuesday, November 4 with three episodes, followed by new episodes weekly on Disney Plus.
