Monetizing infamy became an obvious career move in the 2000s

Evidence

Keeping Up with the Kardashians continued for twenty seasons, cementing Kim Kardashian’s place as Paris Hilton’s obvious successor. Both women shared a lack of ethical qualms about monetizing their infamy. As this ethos spread, it was no surprise that gossip site TMZ became one of the most important sources of journalism. The tabloid website broke stories that defined the era, from Michael Jackson’s death to Tiger Woods’s infidelity scandal and harrowing police photos of Rihanna after Chris Brown assaulted her. In such a media environment, entertainers engaged in self-debasement as an obvious career step. — W. David Marx, Blank Space, 242

Categorization

• XREF: The ‘death of the sellout’ — when self-debasement becomes ‘an obvious career step,’ there is nothing left to sell out. Connects directly to Marx’s proposed mechanism and the reader’s omnivore-monoculture thesis.