This week, Kim Kardashian (46) has been mentioned in the press for three reasons. The first is the launch of her Christmas campaign for her brand Skims, in which she appears with all her sisters. The second is the premiere of her series All's Fair, at a spectacular red carpet event in Rome. And the third is the launch of Citizen Kim. An authorized biography driven by her, which reveals new details about her life.
For example, in the book, the celeb talks about Kanye West and reveals that it is "a huge burden to have children with someone you don't necessarily get along with." However, she also confesses that she remains attentive to everything happening with the rapper. "I worry about him all day. All the time. He is the father of my kids. I will never stop worrying about him," she states.
On the other hand, the influencer also notes that she does not rule out building a future in politics. "People ask me that all the time. I mean... the number of people who wrote to me after the disastrous Biden debate! I feel flattered that you think I am capable of doing something like that," she told Jonathan Van Meter (63), the author of her biography that is now going viral for its peculiar story.
Van Meter is American, born in 1963, and began his career in 1985, at Atlantic City. Later, in 1992, he became the editor of the magazine Vibe, a music publication promoted by Quincy Jones. However, his appointment was not well-received by everyone. The reason? It was a project focused on hip-hop and African American culture, and he was white.
Finally, Van Meter left Vibe in 1994 and began to collaborate with major media such as Vogue and New York Magazine. He has also written for other important magazines like Tatler, Esquire, Vanity Fair, and The New Yorker. Additionally, he has released three books and a documentary about Congressman Barney Frank. However, the reason he is globally known is for his interviews with celebrities.
The journalist has chatted with personalities such as Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Jennifer Lawrence, Liza Minnelli, Winona Ryder, Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey, and of course, Kim Kardashian, with whom he began to forge a close relationship in 2019, when he interviewed her for The Cut and Vogue. And what happened then? Kim was fascinated by what she read in Anna Wintour's magazine.
According to Van Meter's account to Forbes, Kim's representative called him to say that Kardashian wanted to talk to him and to pick up the phone when he saw the 818 area code. And when he answered the call, she reportedly said "there's nothing better than when someone understands you." To which the journalist replied, "I would like to write a book about you."
Initially, Van Meter's idea seemed crazy. But six months later, during the pandemic, he started writing about her. "I don't know. It was just a strange impulse. It was the instinct to follow a person I trusted, who made me feel good and whom I made feel good. I don't know. I did it because I had a feeling of 'we understand each other,'" he stated to Forbes, in an interview where he reveals his entire creative process.
According to the writer, Citizen Kim is based on five years of interviews with Kardashian, which were conducted in various situations. Even at the star's house, where he ended up feeling very comfortable. Moreover, Van Meter says that she makes him feel peace, that her mere presence alleviates his anxiety and that she has the ability to make you think "everything will be okay."
"She is one of those people who are just different. Different from most human beings. She is a bit superhuman. Her work ethic is supernatural. Just like her confidence and her big heart. She has instinct, intuition. She is like a mix of Andy Warhol, Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, and Anna Wintour. She is a living legend. An extraordinary, interesting, and fascinating person," he expressed. But it was precisely that admiration that brought him some problems.
A few days ago, Van Meter gave an interview to The Hollywood Reporter, where he opened up about how his feelings towards Kim began to become confused when he started to really get to know her. "Without a doubt, I completely lost perspective. My mother died early in the project, and Kim is very maternal. I think there was some emotional transference. My therapist told me 'you have let yourself be carried away by her feelings,' and I wrote that phrase on a post-it and stuck it on the wall," he stated.
"The thing is, I started to feel the need to protect her and think 'Oh my God, treat her a little better!'. Because I feel that she sees me, understands me, and cares for me. I have been doing this for a long time, and somehow I ended up falling. But I don't think it was fake. It was real," he asserted. Although he does not refer to having fallen in love with the celeb.
Van Meter has been in love with American photographer and editor Andy Young since 1997, when they had their first date in New York. According to a report by Gay City News, published in 2003, the chemistry between them is explosive. They have similar personalities, are very outgoing, and enjoy hosting friends at home, where we don't know if Kim has also been.