It’s a television show on Bravo that follows the life and work of self-proclaimed “power girl” Kelly Cutrone. She runs a fashion PR firm where associates and partners and junior associates run around screaming at each other and then Kelly screams louder. She’s co-authoring a book called If You Have to Cry, Go Outside. She’s got this mentality that the most important thing in this world is to have power, and that to have power you absolutely must treat everyone else as though their feelings don’t exist.
She fascinates me. I disagree with everything about her. I disagree, firstly, with the notion that you cannot have a staff that respects and works hard for you without constantly cutting them down. I hate the way she and all her minions run around, causing drama, creating problems, and hurting each other’s feelings, as though this is the only way a successful organization can be run. She has one Jr. Account Executive who looks like she hasn’t, honestly, slept in three months. Like her undereye circles were tattooed there. Like if you stuck her in a room with a bottle of Ambien and a nice warm bed and good books and a DVD player and a vibrator and told her she couldn’t come out for a week, NOBODY WOULD RECOGNIZE THE GIRL WHO LEAVES THAT ROOM.
While my career is important to me, I never think of it in terms of power. I think of it in terms of creative fulfillment — of what I can do to feel productive while creating something that has value to others. While providing my teammates with the respect and accolades they deserve and making it clear to them, politely, when they need to work harder and differently. When you do it that way, you also get good results. It’s not the trial-by-fire method Kelly uses, but, man, it keeps my business running smoothly and stress-free. I, personally, prefer that to drama.
I also do not want to grow up to have the “modern parenting” arrangement Kelly seems so proud of, where she raises her 7-year-old daughter in their loft above her company’s offices and manages to squeeze in an hour a day of time with her, most of which appears to be spent telling her daughter how pretty she looks after the nannies have dressed her, and her daughter’s “modern” father lives in Europe and seems to, at least, have his daughter’s phone number and coo at her long-distance, all the while fucking Kelly when she happens to be on the same continent. Like, this is not something to aspire to, people, and having a successful career is not necessarily synonymous with the sacrifice of family life and basic human-to-human kindness. If Kelly didn’t set such a dramatastic example for her employees, that would not be the culture of the entire firm. Issues could be addressed in a normal tone of voice, and people could say please and thank you, and take time to put themselves in the other person’s shoes and see how they could help. They could possibly step outside their own egos and this drama on which they thrive, and they could work toward what was best for the firm. It wouldn’t have to look like a battlezone.
Powerful, successful women don’t have to have “modern parenting” arrangements to cover for the fact that they had a child with a man and he peaced out and you haven’t dated since and the nannies raise your kids. There are many “modern parenting” arrangements I like — the father can be a stay-at-home dad while the mom works. Both parents can work part-time. But essentially leaving your child to be raised by nannies, and popping in every now and then to coo at her jacket or take her to a photo shot, is not “modern parenting,” unless we’d like to expand the phrase to include “child-rearing outsourcing.”
The point is this, ladies: Kell on Earth — and the opinion of Kelly Cutrone, specifically — is polarizing, and it sends a message with which I firmly disagree. The message is this: Either you are an power-obsessed gazillionaire drama queen like Kelly whose life is full-time stress and her relationship with her family is loose at best, or you better just sit at home and bake cookies, or, at the very least, resign yourself to the middle management position at that insurance firm. THERE IS A MIDDLE GROUND, LADIES. We don’t have a lot of high-profile role models for it, because those people don’t make good television, but there are plenty of women out there running wildly successful companies using collaborative management strategies and positive reinforcement and who allow their talent and skill to do most of the heavy lifting for them. There are many ways to be a “power bitch.” You can achieve the same results without wielding power as a defensive shield, and you can certainly do it without being a bitch. You can be assertive without talking to people as though they are less valuable than you are. Remember that doing it Kelly’s way means you live Kelly’s life, and that’s not in any way appealing to me.
Work hard, ladies, and treat each other with respect and humility. And then maybe one day you’ll run a hyper-successful company and you’ll still have the emotional wherewithall to actually be a primary caregiver to your child and still have time to wear lipstick. It’s possible.
I watch this show, and happen to love Kelly. I think you’re too quick to judge someone’s parenting skills based on an hour of edited television per week (where the focus is on her business, not her child). Living and working in the same building actually affords her the opportunity to spend MORE time with her daughter, and as a single mother she’s quite lucky she can afford a nanny. Also, you may not agree with her style of business, but prospective employees know what they’re getting in to, and she chooses people who will succeed in that atmosphere. She’s actually quite caring of her employees, in my opinion, even if she does yell at them.
Agreed. She does care for all her employees. I think people think she’s a bitch and mean because she’s very straightforward and honest. I love that she doesn’t coddle people (this goes on way too much nowadays)
Also, it’s rather ironic that a gossip blog writer (who thrives off of making snarky comments) is telling someone else how to treat others….pot calling the kettle black.
Pot calling the kettle black…. did you come up with that one all by yourself? Anon, you are a fucking genius.
don’t really understand where all the sarcasm is coming from — it’s just an expression….
I agree with Melly, I watch this show and I do like it. I think that sometimes people think the business world is please and thank you… but that isn’t the case, the business world is professional and cut throat. If you are not doing your job to the firms standard, you will either quit or be let go. Life isn’t always please and thank you and I think that is an important message. Yes, she is hard on her staff but you are watching episodes during the Fashion weeks (which obviusly are the most busy time of year for the firm). Her staff does respect her and she goes out of way to nice things for the staff… things that a corporation would never do for its employees. Not everyone has the luxery that a blogger may have. Also in regards to her parenting, I don’t think that should be judged. Let’s face it there are so many different styles of parenting and your examples are no better than what she has arranged. Are you suggesting she quit her job that made her such a success and take on a less intense job so her child wouldn’t live in a beautiful home in NYC which happens to be the top floor of her building’s business? I mean it is ridiculous, she obviously wants to run her company and be there for her kid, so she can afford nannies(probably because her business is so successful) which I have no problem with especially since there is an absent father. Who else would be more qualified? I respect your opinion, but in all reality it is a TV show and you are shown what they want you to see, and not everyone sees it the same way.
Jeesh, where did you learn to write, Longwind U? Home of the”fightin’ blowhards.”
Seriously, it isn’t that long when you can read. Stay Classy.
Hey I agree with you all the way evil beet! I have a boss like her and when I watched the show a few times I had the same feelings. Kelly is just a woman who has power issues and thinks she better than anyone and my boss is just like her!
I’ve watched the show a couple of times. I can’t believe this woman is in the fashion industry…she always looks dirty and sweaty and she berates her staff. She just doesn’t seem nice.
I love the part in the beginning of the season where NY power hooker Ashley Dupre showed up, and Kelly tried to re-write the past on the whole disaster where she sat Ms. Dupre in the front row of a show and lost her job because of it.
I have not seen “Kell on Earth,” but I agree with all of the sentiments that you expressed. Also, it should be noted that it is entirely possible to be a bitch in a very dignified, polite way. I would prefer to work for Regina from Mean Girls or Blair from Gossip Girl than for anyone who believes that yelling is acceptable for primates who walk upright.
Parenting is very important. I am a firm believer that there is no room for error in parenting, and I accept no excuses for incompetence in the area. But being raised by nannies is not a nightmare, I believe — I would love to know more about that child’s upbringing.
That said, “If You Have to Cry, Go Outside” is a fantastic title for a book. Public tears are usually unacceptable, barring very unusual circumstances. Your boss acting like a two-year-old is reason to suppress laughter. And if you are going to cry, PLEASE go outside.
I enjoyed your rant~
“it is entirely possible to be a bitch in a very dignified, polite way. I would prefer to work for Regina from Mean Girls or Blair from Gossip Girl than for anyone who believes that yelling is acceptable for primates who walk upright.”
I much rather be yelled at by an honest bitch than stabbed in the back by a passive aggressive snake…
If those are my options, anyway.
I’ve never seen the show, but any person who has to treat others like shit in order to make themselves feel better is insecure as all hell. It seems like the people who spend all their time screaming and don’t know how to have a conducive work environment where their employees are respectful and feel respected are teetering on the edge of madness anyways.
I have never watched this show so I have no idea what you’re really talking about. Yet, I just wanted to let you know that I REALLY enjoyed reading that. I may have disagreed with you, or been indifferent to the topic all-together, but I still really liked the way it was written. I like that you’re back Beet, your writing stands out miles! It feels like one’s reading a newspaper/magazine articele vs. a blog. It’s honestly a pleasure!
feel like this should be on zelda lily instead.
I watch the show too, pretty much because I am a slave to Bravo and anything they produce. The show is a little too stressful for me to want to turn on though after a days work, but Kelly’s assistant “Goth Andrew” is A-MAZING and I love him and I want to be his best friend. I think I only really watch it because of him.
I agree with most of what you said, especially on her loving her whole “modern relationship” with Ilanio or whatever. That is not a modern relationship Kelly, it is a booty call with guy who only seems to know his daughter through the phone. But I do think that it is a good thing that she lives above her office. Work may be too close to home but at least it does give her the chance to spend more time with her daughter than if she didn’t live so close by.
The biggest problem I see with her office is that no one knows how to manage! They have no time to teach interns to do things their way so when they mess up something like putting labels on gift bags they spend 5x longer freaking out, yelling at them, telling them to do it again but not explaining how and then freaking out again when the interns do it wrong again! They need someone to manage the office because the 3 women in charge have no clue how to do it and are too busy trying to be “power women” that it seems like it’s almost below them to explain a task or how things are done in the business.
I agree with you, she should not be proud of her attitude, but ashamed. A real feminist, a really empowered woman would not act like that,…no real human bing would act like that.
A person who thinks they have to be like that to keep people in control is plain bananas and should not have any kind of power over others. But, well, she seems to have to step on people to feel important and worth her salary. I find her pitiful and depressing, she must feel like crap so she has to yell and be angry not to show how miserable she thinks she is.
Must of the time I think that people just need to be like that with people they think might be better than them if they are given a chance or they see hoe much potential there is in a new generation to change things and prove them wrong
The show is great TV, but it is a reality show and does show interactions of staff and clients to make it more interesting with more conflict – I mean would you watch a room full of people doing office work for an hour? I think not. But she’s the real deal and when you read her book she tells her life story in a way that someone can apply it to themselves if they choose to strive and work hard to improve their lives, her story is very interesting. Kelly Cutrone and her business partner are a big deal in the PR fashion industry that can’t be disputed, but the TV show is a reality show and scene’s are selected to promote it to garner the most viewers, and it is fun to watch.
Most of the employee’s you see on the show are in fact intern’s who are supported by their wealthy parents, and their work product is sketchy but there are occasional nuggets that turn out to be really good employee’s. The bad employee’s who are college grads and can’t do simple jobs correctly and get blind drunk on jobs so consequently are fired – it’s never boring. She’s one of those people that is completely honest and doesn’t sugar coat a thing and it makes for a fun watch.
Agree with Melly as well.
I watched the Kell on Earth marathon this week. Kelly looks like hell all the time, which is pretty amazing considering the industry she works in. I really don’t think she yells that much-she is blunt and brash but I don’t really hear her raising her voice.
The assistant with the ever present dark circles under her eyes can barely put a label on an envelope. Kelly’s partners come off bitchier than her-they are the ladies who are constantly sniping and failing to give instructions to the underlings.
As to Kelly’s parenting skills-she is like most of the female executives that I know in NY-they have nannies and drivers and barely know what is going on in their childrens’ lives. Kelly seems to be closer to her daughter than most of those women. Stack her up to the Hollywood starlets-how many of them are off on sets for months while their children are cared for by others?
Kelly doesn’t seem to give a shit what people think. I like that about her.
There’s nothing like the fashion industry for unhealthy self-absorbtion and much ado about nothing.
But with regards to “modern parenting”, countless women who signed up for “traditional parenting” found themselves abandoned with their dependent children. So they are forced to be “modern”, whether they like it or not.
According to T. Berry Brazelton, professor emeritus of pediatrics at Harvard, what a kid needs to be healthy is one person who deeply loves them and is committed to their well-being. It sounds like Kelly is that person for her child.
And eventually the kid will come downstairs and start hanging out with her mother more. Maybe Kell will show more restraint when her daughter is around, you never know.
SHE IS EVIL AND SCAREY. SHE NEVER SHAVES HER LEGS OR PITS UNLESS SHE’S HITTING THE CONTINENT OR ON HER ANONYMOUS SPERM DONOR. PEOPLE WHO DISRESPECT OTHERS AS SHE DOES, ARE PROJECTING THEIR OWN SELF-LOATHING.
Not to be rude, but though I dislike body hair as much as the next Nair-enthusiast (or “Nair-do-well”), there are worse things in life than a socially unacceptable presence of body hair. An overindulgence with the capslock key, for example. Or misspelling “scary.” On a computer.
That said, Belladonna, your name is spectacular.
I want to marry your sense of humor. Hilarious!
Awww, thank you! ^_^
Thank goodness this is one of the lowest rated cable shows and soon Kelly can crawl back into her hole and leave us alone. Most of the incompetence on this show is clearly staged or dubbed to try to create interesting tv. Kelly is an abusive attention whore who exploits anyone to try and become famous. Ava will either end up a drug addict like Kelly was or become the adult in the their relationship after PR goes bankrupt.
I watch this and I’d have to say she is one of those “tough – very tough – but fair” people.
she’s not perfect but she does seem to care about her employees – but she also cares about her business and livelihood more. last episode one employee was being ridden too hard by one of her sargents/deputies/whatever and she seemed to understand that that was not right.
and living where you work is genius – she seems to really care about her kids. like being a woman or a feminist caring and being professional look different on different people. Kelly could be my boss anytime – or my mom.
*sargeants
hahaha
You are spot on today. Hilarious.
More Sasha!