I have often expressed my shock and dismay over the seemingly inexplicable success of the Kardashian klan. I have wondered aloud whether they have any talent beyond self-promotion and conspicuous consumption. Still, I find myself outraged by a new report that claims that Khloe is not the biological daughter of the late Robert Kardashian. Those claims apparently come from each of the two women who married Robert after he and first wife Kris (Khloe's mom) divorced in 1990.
Let me make this perfectly clear: Khloe is a Kardashian. By all accounts, she was embraced and loved by Robert as his own daughter. He was her dad. Kim and Kourtney are her sisters. Robert Jr. is her brother. Period. End of story. I'm particularly sensitive to this issue because I was adopted by my mom's husband when I was thirteen years old. The man who adopted me is my dad. Actually, I called both him and my biological father dad and I always felt lucky to have been blessed to be a son to two men. The adoption didn't erase the fact that my two half-brothers (my father's sons with his second wife) were still my brothers despite the change in our legal status. The adoption didn't make my sister from my mom and dad's marriage any more my real sister. Beyond biology or legalities, we are family, even if I am the only individual who shared both sets of siblings and fathers.
Aside from the obvious, mean-spirited nature of the assertion, what difference does it make if Robert was Khloe's biological father? I suppose the question, while murmured in the past, rose to a louder level after Kris Jenner famously and publicly admitted to having a torrid affair during her marriage to Robert in her book Kris Jenner... and All Things Kardashian. She said the infidelity cost her dearly, losing her husband, her friends and her home. According to the book, the timeline of Kris' affair came after Khloe's birth but there is little doubt the revelation gave Robert's next ex-wife and his widow what they needed to fuel their allegations about Khloe's lineage. In defense of Khloe, I say -- who cares!
Ask Khloe how many sisters she has and she will surely say four: Kim, Kourtney, Kendall and Kylie. Her two younger sisters (who are also kashing in on the Kardashian juggernaught) are, of course, not Robert's daughters at all. Bruce Jenner is their father. But they are no less Khloe's siblings, nor are they given second class status in the family or in the public because of it. Neither should Khloe. I never thought I'd be a defender of this young woman who I often find maddening, but when it comes to this topic, please, leave Khloe alone.