A different kind of reality. Kim Kardashian is fighting mass incarceration in her new documentary, The Justice Project — a far cry from documenting her everyday life on Keeping Up With the Kardashians.
“No, I’m not doing it for publicity,” the KKW Beauty founder, 39, said during a panel at the Winter Television Critics Association Press Tour on Saturday, January 18. “I really do care and spend 20 hours a week away from my family and my kids every single day.”
Kardashian, who recently completed her first year in law school, added that after immersing herself in the cases of people who legal experts believe have been unfairly sentenced, she couldn’t just give up.
“Like, there’s so much that can be done in every single area,” she explained. “So, it can be exhausting, frustrating, but I know that we can make a difference. And so, all the criticism in the world will not deter me from what I really want to do.”
The Justice Project is a two-hour documentary that follows Kardashian as she investigates the cases of Dawn Jackson, Alexis Martin, Momolu Stewart and David Sheppard, who some legal professionals consider to have been wrongfully convicted. The Skims founder works toward getting them released by consulting with lawyers and lobbying public officials.
The documentary puts faces to case documents by filming Kardashian as she travels to prisons to speak with incarcerated inmates and meet with their families and friends.
Kardashian was inspired to continue the fight against mass incarceration after she asked President Donald Trump to pardon Alice Marie Johnson in May 2018. Johnson, 64, had been serving a life sentence for cocaine trafficking. Trump, 73, granted Johnson clemency after meeting with Kardashian at the White House.
The E! reality star and Johnson met face-to-face after her release, which was shown on an episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians in December 2018. During their special meeting, Johnson even got to speak with Kardashian’s husband, Kanye West, on the phone.
The Justice Project airs on Oxygen on April 5 at 7 p.m. ET.
