In an interview with GQ, George Zimmerman’s brother reveals that Keeping Up with the Kardashians was a model for the reality series the family wanted to rehabilitate George’s image after he was acquitted of killing unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin.
GQ’s Amanda Robb’s must-read story–which says George’s family members, who “pass the time caring for Gladys’s mom and watching Spanish-language telenovelas and Duck Dynasty and Real Housewives and Fox New,” “were eager for the world to see them as they see themselves: ignored, unmourned victims”–includes this paragraph. It’s Robert Zimmerman Jr.’s horrifying idea for a reality show starring his brother and equally horrifying comparison between his brother and a man whose son was killed:
“Robert’s ultimate goal was to turn George into a reality-TV star. His models were John Walsh, who began hosting America’s Most Wanted after his 6-year-old son was abducted and killed, and the Kardashians, whose fame was launched by Kim’s leaked sex tape. ‘I learn a lot from watching Keeping Up with the Kardashians,’ Robert told me. ‘Like, use the shit you’ve got.’ One idea was for George to be the focus of a Candid Camera-style program. One episode, for example, might feature a professor teaching a class about self-defense, and at the end of the episode it would be revealed–surprise!–that George was one of the students.”
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