Kirsten Dunst: “‘Wow, America is so poor”

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Here’s Kiki Dunst on the cover of Allure’s December issue. The cover shot is a pretty picture of her, and Allure has a behind-the-scenes slideshow of the shoot. Maybe I’m biased, but I think she looks slightly drunk on the cover. Maybe it’s just the way she looks, though. Or maybe it’s all of those reports that she’s constantly getting hammered on straight vodka all the time. Maybe it’s because she acts like a vapid, drunk teenager, even when she’s testifying in a court of law. In any case, the pictures are pretty enough, but her interview is rough. Most people are making a big deal about Kiki saying that she and her ex Jake Gyllenhaal are “not good friends” and how they don’t keep in touch. Personally, I don’t find that very scandalous. What did interest me was Kiki’s musings on America. Oh, yes. It is epic.

So much for hanging with your exes.

In the December issue of Allure, Kirsten Dunst admits that she and ex-boyfriend Jake Gyllenhaal don’t exactly keep in touch.

“It would be nice to see him,” she says. “But we’re not good friends.”

The couple — who had shared an L.A. home and a dog named Atticus — split in 2004 after about two years together.

Now 28, Gyllenhaal has been in a relationship with Reese Witherspoon since early 2007.

The 27 year-old Dunst tells Allure that she’s single and living in New York City. Any notable guests at her apartment? “My girlfriends will sleep in bed with me, but no guests, not long-term, anyway.”

The actress, who describes her life as “totally regular,” recently took an eye-opening cross-country road trip with a pal, visiting Graceland, New Orleans and the Grand Canyon.

“After we were done, I was like, ‘Wow, America is so poor,'” she tells the magazine. “Just the towns you come across — all that’s there are restaurants and gas stations. There are beautiful stretches of pasture, but for the most part, people live simply. The East and West Coast are so different from the rest of America.”

[From Us Weekly]

Now, first, just so I don’t go to hell, let me explain in a nice way what I think Kiki was trying to say. I think she was speaking to the larger financial diversity between the extreme, superfluous wealth she’s seen for years in Los Angeles and New York, and she’s trying to voice her genuine surprise and admiration for how “everybody else” lives.

Now, to bash Kiki – just because “everybody else” in America doesn’t have the latest purebred teacup poodle in the latest Louis Vuitton handbag, driving the latest Bentley, wearing the latest Christian Dior sack, doesn’t mean we’re “poor”. And Kiki’s inane, drunk “wow, you guyz is so poor!” mouth-fart doesn’t do much to help the image many of the “everybody else” has of the New York and Los Angeles. Plus, I dislike how Kiki says “the East and West Coast are so different from the rest of America.” As if “East Coast” is synonymous with “New York and maybe Boston but nothing else” and “West coast” is synonymous with “Malibu”. There are a lot of “poor” people living on both coasts, as well as in the rest of America. But, we’re all “poor” compared to Kiki.

Allure cover shot and additional photo courtesy of CoverAwards.

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45 Responses to “Kirsten Dunst: “‘Wow, America is so poor””

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  1. mollyb says:

    Hahaha. I read this yesterday and couldn’t wait for it to pop up here. I, too, get what she was trying to say but her way of saying it made her look laughably ignorant.

  2. Firestarter says:

    I have to disagree, I think that cover is horrible. I sure as heck hope they didn’t use photoshop because if they did, what the heck did the picture look like before. Seriously, I have never seen her look worse.

    I kinda see what she is trying to say, but she is just not articulate enough to say it without sounding like an idiot.

    I loved her in Interview, in fact I named a cat after her character in the movie/book. I thought she was a gorgeous kid. In recent years she just seems like she has partied too much, not quite to the extreme as Lohan, but still lived on little wildly.

    She, IMO, is a good little actress. I loved her in Marie Antoinette, The Virgin Suicides and even that goofy cheerleading movie.

    I hope she stops the drinking and gets a little more straight. God, I sound like a mom! *shudders*

  3. Jillian says:

    Well said, Kaiser.

    I think the covershot is a horrible picture of her. Her mouth looks funny.
    I’ve always thought she was a pretty girl.

  4. Sumodo says:

    She has a high school diploma from a parochial school. Maybe she was sheltered. Kirsten needs a wakeup call. I know the Peace Corps in hiring!

  5. pickelhaube says:

    I do wish she would STFU. Everything that comes out of this b*tch’s mouth is absolutely idiotic. I live in an area that she would consider “poor”, but I love it and am happy, and wouldn’t trade it for anywhere else. I do wish she and her ilk would just stay the hell out of our rural backwards areas, because we do get sick of hearing them talking about us like we are some kind of sideshow oddities. It’s insulting and unnecessary. Just because she cannot comprehend our lives does not make our lives any less meaningful….

  6. Megan says:

    MSN.com recently [within the last two weeks] had an article about the nation’s top 15 cities regarding thriving economies – Texas was most represented…which isn’t on either coast. I was born in NY and raised in southern California and have traveled through most of the country; she is way off base.

  7. PrettyTarheelFan says:

    I agree, Pickelhaube. I was born in ATL and currently reside in a part of the Appalachian Mountains that my northern-born hubby likes to refer to as “white-tailed buck-deer.” However, it’s a great place for family, and a lot of people find themselves loving this area.
    In that same vein, as much as a hate to give any type of prop to the misogynistic Brenden (www.wwtdd.com), he did have an interesting rant in a post about Eva Mendes that named all the Hollywood stars from the South (IE, Reece, Megan Fox, tons more), none of whom sound like Southerners are portrayed in the media/movies. The lowest common denominator is often what’s depicted in a story about the South.

  8. Pont Neuf says:

    At a personal level, I find Kirsten Dunst to be a barely mediocre actress, who tends to give the same edge of bratty cockiness to all of her roles. There are far worse actresses than her who are successful, though, so I suppose that she is OK in the midst of a sea of utter crap.

    I have never found her pretty at all. She was lovely as a child, but her face looks like a cross between a picture of Santa Claus and Mr Potato, but I must agree that she looks nice in these pictures. They have managed to give her an air of ethereal mystery that really suits her.

    As for her comments… Well, she is a child star who comes from a wealthy family. It’s VERY unlikely that she would know about the grim reality that many people have to face every day, or even the monotony of middle class living.

    I think that the privileged environment in which she grew, coupled with her imbecility (what 27-year-old sounds like Miley Cyrus on a particularly bad day?), make her be surprised when she realizes that not everyone has the Hollywood, “five assistants, twenty bodyguards and seven mansions” lifestyle.

  9. jean says:

    Ironically, when I saw footage of her testimony at that burglary trial recently, I was like, “Wow, actresses are so stupid.”

  10. Sakota says:

    I remember coming across my brother watching a dirty movie and I mentioned that the acting sucked. He told me “they’re not paid to act.” SO I think likewise in regard to actors, “they are not paid to think.”

    Once you realize that, it’s easy enough to put up with their idiocy. One celebrity after another has completely disillusioned me.

  11. CB Rawks says:

    Her best movie is Drop Dead Gorgeous, in which her character lived in a Minnesota trailer park.
    (Completely awesome movie, do see it.)
    I wonder if she remembers any of it.

  12. Cakes says:

    Shes not wrong. I grew up in a very small town and shes right. All that I lived around was simple. The midwest and the south are not like the coasts. We are simple living and dont need the fast paced extravagant life style of NY or LA.
    It doesnt mean that we are back woods, stupid or ignorant. We have different lifestyles. I was transplanted from my small town to California about three years ago and I am proud that I grew up where I did. I find the large cities overwhelming and the materialism unnecessary.

  13. Mrs. Darcy says:

    Sounds like Marie Antoinette wasn’t much of a stretch for her! I did think she was good in that btw, agree generally though with the rest of the comments though. She is old enough to
    think before she opens her mouth.

  14. whitedaisy says:

    As long as Hollywood and actors like Kristen Dunst believe Minnesota to be “flyover” country, all the happier for those of us who reside here.

  15. snowball says:

    I’m amazed she actually spent time driving past the unwashed masses in their gas stations and restaurants, Maw and Paw sittin’ on the poach sippin’ moonshine and whittlin’ sticks.

    She seems to lack control over her mouth. Think it, say it. No stop-gap in between.

  16. danielle says:

    Anytime I read an interview she has done she sounds like a moron.

  17. AC says:

    I dont like kirsten much but that second picture of her is just breath taking.

  18. hatsumomo says:

    I can agree with her to a point. My man recently got back from the UK. (does anyone remember me bragging about going to Europe awhile back? I didn’t get to go in the end!) And he couldn’t believe the high cost of living in the UK. We make a little over 60K a year here in San Antonio,TX, which isnt that bad. But he still didn’t have enough to maintain what he is used to. Living in the United States is cheap! He was so pleased to buy a bottle of water for 59 cents compared to two pounds for the same brand. which would equate to $3.20 back in USD. so in a way, Im glad we are considered ‘poor’. I have no idea how Britons manage to live there and not starve to death unless your wealthy.

  19. icky says:

    she looks like hell, doesn’t know how to express herself in a tactful and eloquent way, AND she was heavily photoshopped- In person her skin is the color of an anemic tomato- I swear to god. so yeah fake and still fug

  20. Pete says:

    @hatsumomo

    Yeah, I’ve been to London in 2007 and i is defineteley crazy expensive.

    Why people don’t starve?
    People eat chips/crisps for lunch!

    They earn a little more but they also have to pay a lot more, a lot of people live with their parents because they can’t afford a flat of their own.

    I was there for 5 days and after that I was pretty damn broke.

    The only luxury I took was a cheesecake from Tesco’s.

    You really have it good in the US of A, I’m from GErmany and our cars (Mercedes Benz, BMW, all those “baller-cars”) are 30% cheaper on your turf, but the crazy part is that “we” also drive them as taxi cabs, that’s a bit weird if you think about it. XD

  21. rose says:

    er people in the uk get paid more, in accordance with the higher cost of living…

  22. lucy2 says:

    She was born and lived for years in a town a few miles north of me, here on the east coast. There are “poor” people here too, just like everywhere.
    Living simply does not mean you’re poor, and there’s much more to life than money. Kirsten may have a lot of money, but she hasn’t seemed happy in years, especially if she’s got addictions and other problems.

  23. Trillion says:

    I’m not sure why this interview inspired so much defensiveness from non-Coast dwelling commenters. Did I miss something? I didn’t read anything derogatory in what she said.

  24. hatsumomo says:

    Pete, Oh really?!
    Yeah, my man is really big into cars and wanted to rent a sports car to drive on the ‘Autoban’ I think its called. But like I said, its so expensive. But he also told me luxury cars there are cheaper and more commonplace though. Here, he drives a souped up ’02 s2000. (it was his first brand new car purchase) Initially, he wanted to ship it there with him, but that idea was quickly ruled out. Oh well, maybe 8 months from now. His supervisors want to transfer him there again. (smiles)

  25. Jules says:

    I dislike Kristen Dunst for a myriad of reasons, but the main one is this: she constantly parks in handicapped spaces. Whenever she hops into Starbucks or Pinkberry or whatever very, very important place she has to be, she thinks herself important enough to use the space reserved for disabled persons. For this reason alone she needs a good, sound, repeated slapping. By me, if possible.

  26. minx says:

    I can’t stand her but she’s completely right. US coasts are not representative of the rest (I lived on the East Coast and the Midwest). As to high cost of European living: an average house in US has much more square footage than an average european house but everything else (down to home appliances and design–I’m speaking from experience of owning two houses in the U.S. (rich, coastal area) and one in Europe) is far more modern in Europe, infrastructure is WAY more advanced.. banking, transportation, public spaces.. everything just looks like much more money and thought has been put into it (I’m talking about continental Europe.. Britain loves its pound and its antiquated banking system). Recently, I met a woman from Austria and we started talking about the U.S. She marveled how bad and old public transportation, bridges, subway and public spaces looked in… Chicago. She was surprised and said something like “it looks 20 years behind”. I had to explain to her that in the US, taxpayers money is simply spent differently. Public spaces are not high on the list of priorities. And as far as high cost of living in Europe.. true, if you compare the prices of gas/ food/clothes/cars in the US and Europe..but then in Europe you get much more services for your taxes and just don’t buy as much crap as in the US just to sell it on the next garage sale. Believe me.. we travel much more, have 6 weeks vacay a year (holidays in winter and summer are quite accessible to middle class), medical leave when you get sick (with pay), maternity leave, universal health care and all of those things those Americans living in trailers call “socialism”… and, of course, wouldn’t want 😉

  27. snowball says:

    Trillion, read Kaiser’s last paragraph. Pretty much sums it up. New York and Malibu are haaawt, everything else in between is OMG, poor!

  28. Jules says:

    @Hatsumomo- Do you live in Germany? When I lived there (two years ago) we rented an Audi TT (just to see if we wanted to buy one) for the weekend and it only cost about 150 euros. We lived near Kaiserslautern, what about you?

  29. hatsumomo says:

    no, San Antonio, TX. MY man just recently came back from the U.K. for work purposes. Hopefully, we are going again though. (crosses fingers) He had quite the experience there though. And he has an unhealthy obsession with European made cars….

  30. WTF?!? says:

    Awful cover photo. She looks retarded (and I don’t mean that in the literal sense, not the schoolyard sense).

    Her comment comes across as ignorant, but it was the eradication of that ignorance that made her see the difference, so maybe it’s a first step.
    The major cities on the coasts are NOT representative of the rest of America in any way, but the smaller towns that dot New York State and California are.

  31. Vermithrax says:

    She’s a spoiled bore.

  32. Disco says:

    She is such an ass!

  33. Feebee says:

    Forget the story on Ms Dunst, the conversation going on the comments is much more interesting.

    @ Minx, I thought your comment about US taxpayers money being spent differently was interesting, particularly with the town hall screamers yelling that they didn’t want their tax dollars paying for someone else’s healthcare. I mean if you can’t help out your fellow man in terms of medical need what the hell are your tax $ being spent on (obviously not nice and efficient public transport or infrastructure)? And you’re right about crap… since moving to the US we’ve bought loads of stuff we’d never bother with in NZ.

    Re: London, I too hemorrage (?) $$ when visiting. Literally runs out of my pocket like liquid. Love visiting though.

  34. tey says:

    seems to me she manages to get her whole foot in her mouth without even trying.

    she just insulted a million people.

    damn, who’s next?

  35. Trillion says:

    Snowball, those are Kaiser’s interpretation. Not Dunst’s words.
    Minx: ITA. I was blown away seeing how great Australia’s public transpo was: Interactive street maps on posts! Clean streets! Why can’t we have that? We’re going third world so these giant corps can avoid taxes. So lame.

  36. NicoleAM says:

    My eyebrows went up a bit when I read this on another site. I do think she is a good actress though. I liked her in Interview w/ a Vampire and the Virgin Suicides. Pics look good too.

  37. Essie says:

    I had never seen one of Kiki’s movies until “Marie Antoinette.” I only saw it because I’ve always been a fan of French history, in general, and the Revolution in particular. I loved the movie and I thought Kiki did very well.

    So, I’m not a fan and have never really read anything about her, so I’m learning a lot from commenters here. I had no idea she was born rich and was a child actress. Anyway, this particular excerpt from the interview makes her sound very insular and ignorant of the rest of the world. If she only saw “restaurants and gas stations” on her trip across the country, then she and her friends must have only driven on the expressways rather than getting off and actually seeing the places they were driving through. That’s kind of sad, but typical. I feel sorry for her because she wasted that cross-country drive. She could have seen and learned so much. Too bad she didn’t make an effort.

  38. fizXgirl314 says:

    comparing the US and europe really doesn’t make sense… first of all, Europe is made of many countries and the US is made of many states. Europe changes quite drastically from country to country… for instance, Germany isn’t so expensive, but where I am currently staying for work (Switzerland) has exhorbitantly high prices because the dollar isn’t doing so well right now… I generally end up paying 15-20 bucks for lunch here for the same shit I can get for 5 bucks in the states… sandwich, chips and a coke… and everything here is priced separately… there’s never a “combo” deal.. you pay for each item and you pay well…

    There are towns in the US which are EXTREMELY clean and well maintained (Beverly hills, malibu, newport… just to name the few places I’ve seen) and ones that are really dirt poor…

    to say that Europe is advanced is another really comical thing to me because I was just complaining the other day how it took me a whole day to do laundry because the laundry machiens are SOOOO OLLLD… and the stove and dishwasher? fuggadaboutit… I can’t even boil water without wanting to rip my hair out… the stoves take 10 mins to heat up…

    and then when you take your trash out you gotta put them in these standardized trash bags and buy stickers for them… you can’t just toss it out like you do in the US… and if you want to recycle… GOOD LUCK… it is soooo inconvenient… especially for cardboard which you have to wait to have picked up every 3 months…

    The only thing I would say is great about Switzerland is that they have GREAT public transportation… otherwise, I am soooooooo over the stinky cheese, the stores that close at 6 pm sharp and aren’t really open on the weekends and I prefer to have a car anyway because public transportation is never really that convenint… besides, it costs about 3 bucks per stop, which is more than I pay for gas in the states…

    WAAAA I wanna go home 😐

  39. Jenna says:

    It’s funny that people in the South have a better dental plan than her.

    Just saying.

  40. lin234 says:

    @ fizXgirl314
    I agree that you can’t compare the US and Europe. I’ve traveled around Europe and Switzerland is my favorite place in the world! So lucky you! What type of work do you do? Just wondering cause it seems Switzerland would be a awesome place to live. 😛 (For the scenery) Have you been to Mount Pilatus? The most beautiful place I have ever been. I love the town of Lucerne too.

    lol The Swiss are known for their precision and the Germans too. When I was Germany, I was with two friends at a fruit stand in Munich. We were trying to decide between getting some cherries or another type of fruit since we had been traveling and didn’t get much fruit in our diets. We decided on cherries and hesitated for a minute on how much to get. We had pointed out to the person selling that we wanted cherries. A minute later when we turn around to say how much we wanted, she point at her watch and said it was 5pm and she was closed. lol We ended up buying from another vendor but that’s NEVER happened in the US or Asia before. In fact, in Asia, if they saw you were potentially buying something they’d be willing to stay open for however long.

    Taking out the trash and laundry does sound like a huge hassle compared to the states.

    As for Kristen’s comment, there are poor and rich people everywhere you go. In fact, in more rural places, the rich tend to live in more secluded areas. They are less likely to live by the highway. She’s just more familiar with the main cities and surrounded by people with money. She’s just sheltered and it’s not surprising or insulting. It’s just how she grew up.

  41. jbird says:

    It is really sad that is the best they could make her look for the cover.
    I find Kirsten to be very ugly on the inside and out, how her and jake ever got together is beyond me, they seem soo different

  42. fizXgirl314 says:

    http://meg.web.psi.ch/ I work at this laboratory as a physicist… hence the nickname :-p

    I’ve actually been to both Luzern and mt pilatus… and a few other places with a hiking group… I guess I am just being whiny because I miss my home and all the conveniences I had amassed… I’m sure it’s a great country…

    In all honesty, it never really matters where you live or what you have… what seems to be the most important is the people around… your friends… and family and the such… as cheesy as it sounds, I guess it’s the truth :/

  43. Ashley says:

    America is poor? I guess if you’re driving through nothing but small towns it seems like that. But I grew up in middle America, San Antonio, Texas, and there is nothing poor about where I live. Obviously this vapid waste of space didn’t learn anything on her little “road trip”. She’s still as ignorant as ever.

    hatsumomo – I’m moving to London this December for school and I’m already dreading it. It’ll be the first time I have to live on my own and pay my own bills and the 200 pounds a week I’m budgeted for housing is already stressing me out. It’s not enough and that’s with flatmates. I don’t even want to think about food. I imagine all my eating out will have to cease. But I guess it’s worth it to experience London for a few months, maybe years.

  44. Babs says:

    I’ve always hated Kristen Dunst because I thought she was too ugly to be famous, but I didn’t know until now that’s she’s also stupid. That’s sad 🙁

    We should ship her off to Somalia, where maybe she could find out what ‘poor’ really is. She could entertain the Africans there by using her jagged little rat teeth to open the tin cans we airdrop in to feed the populace.
    I’ll bet watching her open a tin can with her teeth would a good time, much more so then trying to watch her ‘act’ ever could be.

  45. lin234 says:

    @ fizXgirl314

    ahh lol No I didn’t bother to really think about your nickname. Clever.

    I was over in Europe for 2 months traveling and since it was my first time, I was just enthralled by the architecture, scenery, random art everywhere, history etc everywhere I looked. So I didn’t mind the inconveniences at all. But towards the end, I have to admit I was looking forward to free automatic toilets, spacious rooms.. stuff like that. So I can see why you’d become ambivalent in living in another country. Even if it is Switzerland! 😛 But yea, when I was living in San Francisco, the scenery was gorgeous but it was really my friends that mattered. Doesn’t sound cheesy at all. I just always imagine some places would make me happier.

    Take care and try and make the most out of your stay there! I’d try to go hiking as much as possible if I lived there. 🙂