Kim Kardashian wields a lot of power with her celebrity. Given her billion-dollar companies and hundreds of millions of Instagram followers, it’s fair to say she’s a bigger deal than the average reality star posting thirst traps. However, there are apparently still some areas of fame that she can’t touch, as Whoopi Goldberg and the studio audience at The View had a major issue with Sunny Hostin’s suggestion that The Kardashians star was a sex symbol on the level of Raquel Welch, who recently died.
Raquel Welch, known for the movies One Million Years B.C. and Fantastic Voyage among many others, died February 15 at the age of 82 following a short illness, according to family members. As the ladies of The View memorialized the actress in the February 16 episode of the ABC daytime talk show, Joy Behar noted that “they don’t make any sex symbols like that” anymore. Sunny Hostin then received immediate jeers when she responded:
Well, Kim Kardashian is kind of a sex symbol.
Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar both shouted, “No!” as did some audience members, and soon the studio was filled with boos from the live crowd. Sunny Hostin looked shocked, as she threw her hands up and commented that the audience was turning on her. The Sister Act star tried to respond to Hostin’s suggestion, which turned into a stuttering:
That's not even, you can't even put them in the same, I’m not even… Look, I'm moving on.
I’m not sure how many times in Whoopi Goldberg’s life she can recall being rendered speechless, but she was certainly flummoxed at the thought of Kim Kardashian being mentioned in comparison to Raquel Welch. You can see the full exchange and robust audience reaction below:
Raquel Welch appeared in Elvis Presley’s 1964 film Roustabout and TV series like Bewitched and McHale’s Navy before finding breakout fame in 1966 with the films Fantastic Voyage and One Million Years B.C. The latter contributed to her fame as a sex symbol, as it featured the actress wearing a revealing loincloth. The image became an iconic movie poster image, and it was even part of a historical inaccuracy in The Shawshank Redemption.
The audience’s strong rejection of Kim Kardashian being compared to the late actress feels reminiscent of the criticism the SKIMS boss faced when she wore a dress made famous by another classic sex symbol — Marilyn Monroe. The dress that the Some Like It Hot actress wore to sing a sultry “Happy Birthday” to President John F. Kennedy was adorned by Kardashian on the red carpet of the 2022 Met Gala. Her choice to wear the dress ended up drawing criticism from the dress’ designer Bob Mackie, as well as many others who accused her of damaging the dress by stretching the fabric and straining the seams.
Some legends are untouchable, it seems, even to the likes of Kim Kardashian. You can keep up with all the Hot Topics being discussed on The View, which airs weekdays on ABC, and make sure your Hulu subscription is up to date for the return of The Kardashians, coming soon to the 2023 TV schedule.
