Pop CultureHOT TAKE OR NOT
Kardashian biographer on why stars confide in him
Citizen Kim runs to 352 pages and draws on more than 100 hours of interviews, and Kardashian reportedly read every page; the corrections remain private.
Watch it as it aired: Dale Bearman, Hank Ledger and Vera Bullock on this story, from BBN This Morning at 6:08 AM ET. Cartoon anchors, real headline: the facts are The New York Times's, the jokes are ours.

At a glance
- First reported by The New York Times: “Why Kim Kardashian and Oprah Trust Him With Their Secrets”, with reporting from Penguin Random House, NewsNation and Cultured.
- Covered on BBN on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, at 6:08 AM ET on BBN This Morning, by Dale Bearman, Hank Ledger and Vera Bullock.
- Topics: Kardashian, Kim.
- BBN covered this story before: Khloe Kardashian's Halloween Party Gets the Full Spooky Treatment (October 27).
The real story
The reporting behind this segment. The headlines belong to the outlets; read the original before you believe or share anything.
- The New York TimesWhy Kim Kardashian and Oprah Trust Him With Their Secrets
- Penguin Random HouseCitizen Kim October 27, 2026 · facts used on air
- NewsNationKim Kardashian's biography 'Citizen Kim: The Woman Who Created the Future' biggest revelations October 27, 2026 · facts used on air
- CulturedHow Jonathan Van Meter Convinced Kim Kardashian to Participate in Her First Authorized Biography October 6, 2026 · facts used on air
What BBN said about it

Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorJonathan Van Meter has written a Kim Kardashian biography called Citizen Kim, three hundred fifty-two pages, thirty-two dollars in hardcover, the New York Times reports.

Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorHot take: this is the most honest biography ever written. Kim went through every page and pointed out inaccuracies, and NewsNation says so.

Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorThat's fact-checking, Hank, not interference.

Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorThe subject corrected the book about the subject. NOT. That's a notes pass.

Dale Bearman · Chief Skeptic & ContributorHot take: a hundred hours of interviews is the problem. Nobody has ever told the truth for a hundred hours.

Dale Bearman · Chief Skeptic & ContributorSomewhere around hour sixty, you're just reading the menu aloud.

Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorHOT. That's math.

Vera Bullock · Co-AnchorHank, you ruled my take NOT because she corrected it? In my business, that's called a polished final draft.

Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorIn your business, it's called a press release.

Dale Bearman · Chief Skeptic & ContributorRuling stands, Vera. And the book names Kant in its opening pages, so even the philosophers had to sit through the interviews.

Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorMy final take: that notes pass ran five years, and the subject got the last note. HOT.

Hank Ledger · Lead AnchorI'd have taken the thirty-two dollars and kept the secrets.
More Shorts
All videos →The story so far
- Kim Kardashian wears two jeweled headpieces at 46th birthday dinner · E! News
- Kim crosses new bridge into Dandong, met by China's premier · Al Jazeera
- Kris Jenner's Rome premiere cape dress was a Kim costume, Hello… · Page Six
- Prince William on the selfie, Kim in China, a 476,000-year-old log… · BGNES
- Kim Jong Un Makes Surprise Trip to China, Crosses New Bridge · WSJ
- Khloe Kardashian's Halloween Party Gets the Full Spooky Treatment · E! News
- Kardashian biographer on why stars confide in him (this story)
From the archive: everything BBN aired on Wednesday, October 28, 2026 · the Pop Culture archive · all months


Photo: Charles J. Sharp · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Elisa Azzali · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Thomas Wolf · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Gage Skidmore · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Nils R. Barth · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Patrick Cristiano · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN

