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Kim Kardashian slams nepotism claims after North West’s ‘controversial’ Lion King role

21 February 2025, 16:32 | Updated: 21 February 2025, 16:46

Kim Kardashian finally speaks out about backlash to North West's Lion King casting. Picture: Disney+

By Katie Louise Smith

"North is the moment. They wanna see North West because she's a personality."

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Remember when North West performed as Simba for The Lion King's 30th Anniversary concert at the Hollywood Bowl? Her casting unfortunately caused huge uproar online at the time with people complaining about her only landing the gig because of nepotism thanks to her famous parents and famous family.

Then 10-year-old North took to the stage alongside the likes of original cast members Nathan Lane and Jeremy Irons, as well as Jennifer Hudson, Heather Headley and Billy Eichner for the concert. During the show, she performed 'I Just Can't Wait To Be King'.

Despite not responding at the time, Kim Kardashian has now directly spoken about the discourse in a new episode of The Kardashians – and issued an explicit two-word response to those who spoke negatively about her daughter North online.

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North West performed 'I Just Can't Wait To Be King' in The Lion King's 30th Anniversary concert. Picture: Disney+

The third episode of The Kardashians season 6 features a storyline centred around North's performance at the concert.

In the ep, Kim confirms that North had been practising with a vocal coach and only had four days to rehearse for her big number. North can then be seen enthusiastically putting her all into rehearsals.

Anticipating some kind of negative response from critics, Kim then tells the camera: "I already know what's coming, you know, that she's not Whitney Houston... Duh! Oh, she got the job because of her parents..."

"North is the moment," she adds. "They wanna see North West on a TikTok, on a this, on a anything, because she's a personality, a performer."

"And if anyone wants to hate on a child that is having the time of their lives, F--- you!"

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A post shared by Kim Kardashian (@kimkardashian)

The cameras also captured footage of North leaving the stage, critiquing her own performance as she left. Kim, however, later shared: "She's so proud of herself, she did such a great job."

Responding to the criticism of her performance, Kim added: "And anyone who is hating on a kid is just like, a hater! She's not there to be, you know, Mariah Carey."

If you want to watch North's performance, it's included in the latest Kardashians episode. The full anniversary concert is also available to stream on Disney+.