Kim Kardashian And The SEC Team Up To Remind You That Celebrity Culture Is Bullsh*t

Please, for the love of God, don't get your financial advice on Instagram.

This morning the Securities and Exchange Commission announced that Kim Kardashian would pay $1.26 million in penalties, disgorgement, and interest for a June 2021 Instagram post flogging the cryptocurrency EthereumMax without disclosing that she'd been paid $250,000 for her endorsement.

Note that the hashtag "AD" at the bottom doesn't appear to have cut the mustard in terms of disclosure.

Let's assume for the sake of argument that we all know what crypto is, and we all have an opinion on it. This blogger is of the opinion that it's a bet against the world's reserve currency (AKA the greenback) based on the theory that there will always be another sucker to take a worthless asset off your hands. But that's neither here nor there. The day before Kardashian's post, one EMAX token was worth 0.0000001379 USD (dollars). After her post, it jumped to 0.0000002249 USD, and is currently trading at 0.00000000437 — note the two extra zeros going in the wrong direction. ( Source .) All of which is to say that this is not the kind of product that should be marketed like eyeliner or overpriced girdles. (And do not come at me with this shit about "shape wear." It's your body, dress it how you like, of course, but I know my grandma's girdle when I see it, TYVM.)

The Daily Beast observed at the time that the deal seemed pretty sketchy, with the cryptocurrency promoting itself as a “Culture Token,” providing “access to VIP experiences with lifestyle brands, exclusive access to sporting events and concerts.”

Kardashian, who admits no wrongdoing, has agreed to help the SEC with its ongoing investigation and to refrain from promoting crypto assets for three years. This is roughly the same deal struck in 2018 by boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. and music producer DJ Khaled in 2018, when they agreed to pay $614,775 and $152,725 respectively for their own undisclosed endorsement payments from EthereumMax. Mayweather and Kardashian, as well as former NBA player Paul Pierce and EthereumMax's corporate promoters, are facing a class action lawsuit in California alleging that they perpetrated a pump-and-dump scheme to profit from the essentially worthless cryptocoin.

All of which is to say, celebrity culture sucks — not that you needed a further reminder after four years with a narcissistic reality TV star as the actual president of US America. Kim Kardashian just started a private equity fund , and that is fucked up . This is the celebrity who popularized the concept of being famous for being famous. And while she has spun that fame into a shit ton of money, there's no indication that she knows anything about managing your money .

But you know who does know about money? SEC Chair Gary Gensler. And while Gensler is certainly less photogenic than Kardashian, this is an excellent video explaining why you shouldn't take financial advice from social media influencers whose product is literally themselves.

“Today @SECGov, we charged Kim Kardashian for unlawfully touting a crypto security. This case is a reminder that, when celebrities / influencers endorse investment opps, including crypto asset securities, it doesn’t mean those investment products are right for all investors.”

— Gary Gensler (@Gary Gensler) 1664796644 

Would that our government agencies didn't have to spend time and money making such videos! But here we are.

And PS, Kim Kardashian is theoretically planning to become a lawyer via apprenticeship now that she's passed the "Baby Bar," California's one weird trick to become a lawyer without having to go to college or law school. It's not clear whether the California bar will view this latest SEC kerfuffle as sufficiently incriminating to preclude her membership. But she's got a billion dollars, so ... YOLO!

Follow Liz Dye on Twitter!

Click the widget to keep your Wonkette ad-free and feisty. And if you're ordering from Amazon, use this link, because reasons .