Kim Kardashian has said she believed her career was over after critics panned her performance in the legal drama All's Fair, but noted that the negative reviews ultimately attracted viewers.
The reality star and entrepreneur plays divorce lawyer Allura Grant in the Ryan Murphy-created series, appearing alongside Glenn Close, Sarah Paulson, Naomi Watts and Niecy Nash Betts.
The first series, which debuted on Disney+ last year, received harsh reviews and a 6% rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, yet proved a success for the streaming service.
Backlash turned into viewership
Responding to the criticism, Kardashian, who reprises her role in the second series, told the Press Association: "I just thought it was so funny that people came in and wanted to hate on it so much that the hate turned into viewers wanting to see how bad it was."
"So they tuned in and they made it like a number one show for weeks on end because they were tuning in to see how ridiculous we would be, and I think there's something kind of funny about that and special and like important to show that the critics (don't decide)."
She added: "It's just so cool that we were able to push through that. There was a second when I thought, 'Oh my God, my career is over, and these girls are gonna hate me because I just brought in this whole wave of hate that they've probably never experienced before in their amazing acting lives.'"
Paulson's voicemail gave confidence
Kardashian said a voicemail from Sarah Paulson changed everything for her. Asked what the message said, Paulson explained: "I was just saying the truth. I was just saying what I believe to be true about Kimberly Noel is I think she's really special."
"She's a special person and I think what people are going to see this year is there were a couple of scenes in particular towards the end of the season where both Naomi and I were both like, 'Jesus, woman'."
"I'm not saying she wasn't good before she was. It's just there's been a whole other kind of level of confidence and funny and all the things that you are as a person were coming through more as a character, which I thought was just so divine."
Bar exam nod in new series
The new series features Kardashian's character admitting she failed the bar the first time, a reference to the reality star not passing the California bar exam on her first attempt after taking the test in July 2025.
Kardashian said: "He (Ryan Murphy) came up with that, and he knows I'm always game. If there was something that I wasn't comfortable with, he would not feel comfortable even letting me say it, so he knows that I would be."
"And when I read that, I was like, 'Oh my God, that's genius. That is so funny to acknowledge that everyone would understand what that meant.' And I thought it was so funny."
The second series of All's Fair is released on Disney+ on March 4.
