Kim Kardashian West: I empathise with Britney Spears

Kim Kardashian West feels “a lot of empathy” for Britney Spears after watching her new documentary, “Framing Britney Spears”, as the reality star says she’s also been the subject of intense public scrutiny.

The “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” star watched the New York Times documentary this week – which explores the issues surrounding Britney’s fame, including her 2008 public meltdown which resulted in her being placed under conservatorship – and has said she relates to the star’s situation, because she understands how “traumatising” it can be to live in the spotlight.

Posting on her Instagram Story, Kim wrote: “So I finally watched the Britney Spears documentary this week and it made me feel a lot of empathy for her.

“The way the media played the big role in her life the way it did can be very traumatizing and it can really break even the strongest person.

“No matter how public someone’s life may seem, no one deserves to be treated with such cruelty or judgement for entertainment.

“Looking back at my own experiences, I remember a time when I felt this way. (sic)”

Kim, 40, went on to explain some of her own experiences with hate comments after she was trolled for her size when she was pregnant with her first child, North West.

She added: “When I was pregnant with North I was suffering from preeclampsia, which made me swell uncontrollably.

“I gained 60 lbs and delivered almost 6 weeks early and I cried every single day over what was happening to my body mainly from the pressures of constantly being compared to what society considered a healthy pregnant person should look like – as well as being compared to Shamu the Whale.

“Looking at all of the photos of myself online and in magazines made me so insecure and I had this fear of wondering if I would ever get me pre baby body back.

“I was shamed on a weekly basis with cover stories that made my insecurities so painful I couldn’t leave the house for months after. It really broke me. (sic)”

And the SKIMS founder says she hopes people will “reconsider” their actions when it comes to publicly shaming others in the future, as she believes it’s “always better to lead with kindness”.

She wrote: “Luckily I was able to take these frustrating, embarrassing feelings and channel it into motivation to get me where I am today, but to say this didn’t take a toll on me mentally would be a lie.

“I’m sharing this just to say I hope everyone involved in the business of shaming and bullying someone to the point of breaking them down might reconsider and instead try to show some understanding and compassion.

“You just never fully know what someone is going through behind the scenes and I’ve learned through my own experiences that it’s always better to lead with kindness. (sic)”