Critics’ disgust did not stop audiences from embracing the Kardashians.

Evidence

Critics long dismissed the show’s bad taste and shameless commercialism. The Washington Post decried its content as ranging from “the simply self-absorbed to the downright despicable,” while The New York Times described the Kardashians as “a family that seems to understand itself only in terms of its collective opportunism.” Yet, for millions, the series became a cultural touchstone—a live-action TMZ blending gossip and raunch. — W. David Marx, Blank Space, 228

Categorization

• XREF: The elite-disdain/audience-taste gap echoes ‘Complaints About Immodesty Go Way Back’ — moral condemnation of popular taste has always coexisted with mass enjoyment. — connects to: The Kardashians broke reality fame’s ephemerality by rotating family members as engines of attention — Tim Wu, The Attention Merchants, 850