I’ve been keeping my eye on the news coming out of the Cannes Lion Festival this week. So far, there hasn’t been anything “gossip-worthy,” although some of the Q&A sessions and panel discussions have been interesting reads. On Wednesday, Iggy Pop arrived at Cannes to take part in a discussion called Do Not Go Gentle. I would assume the discussion was about how to be punk rock, how to be anti-establishment, how to give the middle finger to The Man. Except that the conversation was mostly about business, actually. And Iggy actually delivered some interesting quotes. Some highlights:
On Kim Kardashian: “Kim Kardashian has been good for Armenia, that’s what I think. The unintended side effect of Kim’s career is that there are probably some people who think they have more possibilities of life. Look, she’s got a big old Armenian butt, little Armenian legs … She’s a nice-looking Armenian beauty, I would say … there are so many different kinds of beautiful people and beautiful things to appreciate in the world.”
The first time he heard his music on a commercial was for the Detroit Dragway in the ‘70s: “I heard this voice behind one of the voiceovers, and it was a f–king Stooges song. It was me! And I was so thrilled — I felt like I was somebody, I felt like I was in the society. It only took me 30 years to realize I never thought about getting paid for that.”
Whether he watches any commercials: “I skip them … I liked the Carl’s Jr ad with a girl in a bikini taking a big old bite out of a burger. I watched that. The public is God and in between the public and the product is a voodoo priest called the ad guy. You’ve got to convince the client that you are going to make it rain.”
He doesn’t believe in marketing: “I meet marketing people at the record company, they have two faces, five mouths and 10 sets of ethics.”
He might not tour anymore: “The less I can do, the better off I am. Giving up, or giving ground… those are necessary, tactical situations that come up, that arise as you live longer and longer. Not to mention that you’ve got more of a history, too. In my case, I’ve kinda gotten a pass on that, because I feel better in general now than I did when I was 18, 19, 21.”
His biggest fears: “I don’t feel like having a stroke.” He continued that he never wants to go under a surgeon’s knife: “I’d never let anyone get inside me with a knife… I’d have to get a funeral yacht, sail off to Cannes and party myself to death rather than have an operation.”
The Kim Kardashian quote feels apropos of nothing, but the bulk of the conversation was about advertising, marketing, commercials, sales, etc. So maybe Kim came up organically, because she’s brilliant at marketing and selling herself. To the point where that’s her only real skill. Marketing her big ol’ Armenian butt. Maybe that’s the REAL punk rock. That an “Lust For Life” playing on cruise ship commercials.
Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet and Getty.
First Iggy can talk about “pakis” and now Armenians! Are there any other POC he wants to comment on?
Ok this is a genuine, legitimate question: are Armenians people of color, though? They’re in the causcus mountain area. Aren’t they considered white, even if they might have darker hair? My dad is Russian- black hair, dark eyes and skin. His 2nd wife was pure ethnically German- black, very curly hair, dark eyes and skin. I often hear people say “Kim is not white,” but really I think they all look like Kris and Kris has dark hair/eyes and I think is of German descent? I’m genuinely curious. Thank you
They are white.
what Locke said (Austrian here).
No, they are not POC. Some Americans seem to consider anyone who isn’t of Anglo-Saxon descent to be a POC.
Well to be fair the term has always been fluid. There was a time when Italians and Jews were not considered white either.
@ann – In America. They weren’t considered white in the US. They were always white in Europe.
I thought Armenians were a mixture of European and Arabic ethnicities.
What a piece of sh*t he is. Using the term p*ki. That is a very racist word…a word kids taunted me with all through school. Bad memories. F*ck him !
That was…weird. I feel like he had no idea what to say but didn’t want to say something disparaging so he just gave a weird, cop-out answer about Kim’s Armenian butt being good for Armenia…
Yep, it was strange. It is Iggy though…I’m impressed he is still kicking after all he put his body through…so being semi-coherent is more or less what I expect from him. I am no fan of the Kardashians and PMK but the one thing I’ll give them credit for is visiting Armenia, bringing up their Armenian heritage, and discussing the Armenian genocide. In a roundabout way, one could praise her for bringing more attention to the issue….
However, it’s a bit of a stretch to say that having an attractive Armenian in the media is somehow promoting more inclusive beauty and that the “beauty” helps Armenia.
Agreed. He could easily be Ozzy.
I’d like to hear what Armenians think about it 😉
He must know that Kims butt and face are fake. I hope that the Armenian people aren’t anything like Kim.
Mare — Many people don’t realize how much surgical and cosmetic and wig/hair extension magic is behind what they think famous people look like. So he might not know that Kim’s natural Armenian butt was much smaller, she injected a lot of extra Armenian fat cells into it to get what she’s got. I don’t think what she has now is commonplace in Armenia among people of a healthy weight. So no, it really doesn’t represent Armenian beauty.
Well he’s going to get added to Kimmie’s Christmas Card list….he called her a beauty and we know she loves to be recognized for that. He should have said “short” Armenian legs as opposed to little, since there is nothing little about her except her thought process on anything not relating to her. Bless her heart.
Umm…Hello!…That butt did not come from Armenia. It came for a surgeon’s office.
Lol yup and he obviously is frightened about surgery. Imagining her horrifying him by telling about the dozen + she has had!
I was just wondering if actual Armenians are annoyed that people think that’s their “ethnic body type” when everyone knows those butts are plastic surgery
Iggy POP is a genius and a musicians musician. He’s obviously a guy, so I think his comments were pretty cool about Kim Kardashian. She is beautiful (to men, I’m sure). He spoke the truth about her body in a complimentary way. Two thumbs up for me…
But how exactly has her being pretty benefited Armenia?
It hasn’t.
Well, more people have heard of Armenia so there’s that. And it actually did spread some awareness about the Armenian genocide…but that’s about it.
pinetree 13: I sort of agree that they might have made some people more aware of Armrnia and her history, but they sure stopped talking about it very quickly, didn’t they? To be fair, perhaps they maintain their connections privately, but somehow, I doubt it.
I’m currently studying marketing and about 3 times a week there is mention of the kardashian’s. They’re a great reference for marketers apparently so this isn’t too surprising if he was having a business type panel discussion
What’s interesting about the Kardashians/Jenners is that they’ve managed to retain and/or increase their success and brand despite the fact that they’ve seemed to over-saturate the pop culture market for so long. They’ve been everywhere for a consistent 10 years.
I once went to an AdWeek event where Kris was a speaker. I was actually hoping to get some insight considering the millions she’s made off her daughters, and there was none. It was all about expanding the brand. Yeah, but how the heck did you make the brand so popular to begin with that it even had an opportunity to expand. That’s what we all wanted to know.
I’m Armenian and we are not known for having gigantic butts. Kim’s is fake and all the Kartrashian’s have done for Armenians is embarrass them. We also don’t have “little” legs. Any Armenian on her face has long been erased by her plastic surgeon.
You sound like a jerk, Mr. Pop.
I agree – he does sound like a jerk. No filter between his brain and mouth.
From pics of their visit to Armenia, that was pretty obvious. The Armenian women in the pics didn’t look disproportionate like Kim.
I know several Armenian families, and none of the female members have KK’s body type. Most have the glossy dark hair and eyes, and one has red hair, but their bodies are mostly slim and well-proportioned. Once upon a time, you could see the resemblance between Kim and her dad, but (to me), as she and her sisters get older, they look more like their mum, be that due to genetics or cosmetic refurbishments.
Iggy is Iggy is Iggy. If you want to see him in his prime, look for his interview with Dinah Shore on YouTube. David Bowie is in it too. He’s been nuts for a long, long time.
He is far from nuts. On the contrary, his 2014 John Peel lecture showed him to be incredibly insightful, sharp, funny and on the ball.
Highly recommend to anyone who hasn’t seen it.
IGGY! <3
Let's all enjoy that he acknowledged the smorgasbord of types of beauty, in all its shapes and forms.
I hope he realizes Kim bought her big non-Armenian butt. But I think that since this discussion was about the music BUSINESS, his comment was regarding a market awareness of Armenia vis a vis Kardashians.
As a note on Kim, she never looked better than when she was with Chris Humphrey!!! She doesn’t even look like the same person now though! So crazy! My baby wouldn’t sleep and I turned on E!(don’t judge me) and she was on it and I was like OMG she looks beautiful and normal! Her butt wasn’t insane massive either. Her legs were super little. She never looked better but that’s was loads of plastic surgery ago and two kids ago.
Yeah, I agree. I think she still had done some stuff but it was natural looking. I don’t think he would have gotten with her if she looked like she does now. I liked Kris humphries. He was down to earth. Yes, I know, he doesn’t have much tact but he seemed like a good person.
Snowflake- yes, Humphries was pretty much a normal Midwestern guy. He was blunt but not unkind. Must have been quite a culture shock for the Kardashians, they don’t appreciate honesty. Humphries was thinking long-term, he expected to have kids with Kim and raise the kids themselves in a quiet place rather than dropping them off with nannies. So he assumed that she was looking forward to settling down out of the public eye. Since Kim is such a liar, my guess is that they had discussed all of this before the wedding and she just told him what he wanted to hear. She even went to Bible study with him. So he was obviously put off balance when in front of the cameras after the wedding, she said things directly contradicting all that. Their show deliberately cast him as the stooge and tried to make him look bad, but I think he was just way out of his depth dealing with a pathological liar like Kim. She began to show her true self only after she was married to him. If she had talked honestly with him about her real expectations, he never would have married her.
But doesn’t he know her ass is fake? She’s also had a lot of work done on her face and entire body. How can we applaud her for that? I think most Armenians are embarrassed by her.
Anyone born in the US is considered American to the rest of the world, not whatever ethnicity their grandparents were. Kim Kardashian is no exception. Why would Armenians be embarrassed by her? She’s not Armenian. My dad’s parents were from Italy; that doesn’t entitle me to run about calling myself Italian. I’m not embarrassed by the Olive Garden or the cast of Jersey Shore. Why would this be any different.
As an American, I am embarrassed by Jersey Shore, Kardashians, Idol, and other tripe. And the lack of common sense gun control, and the Republican obstructionists,….but, I digress. Celebitchy is my happy place. 🙂
Where does Iggy use the term “P-ki”? I missed it. If he did so, then he’s wrong. I’m just glad Iggy is alive. He is a genuine genius in my book and he’s made some fantastic music. I have no idea why he’d mention Kim. It’s that comment that got him attention on this site. Sad, because he’s got more talent in his little pinky than Kim does in any body part (real or fake) and I don’t dislike Kim.
XOXO to you and Iggy! He’s the genuine article, no BS.
Kardashians are all BS (and Botox), imo.
Yeah Iggy,
The world needs thousands more people like you to clean up all the bullshit.
Yeah, Yeah, IGGY,
Kick out the Jams.
The world needs thousands more like you to clean up all this BS.