Kim Kardashian finally addressed eldest daughter North West’s viral star turn during last year’s Hollywood Bowl concert celebrating The Lion King.
The then-10-year-old hit the stage as Simba during the 30th-anniversary celebration of the beloved animated film in May 2024, with her casting initially drawing mixed reactions from fans. However, many came to bat in her defense after her performance drew harsh criticism—something her famous mom anticipated.
The SKIMS founder and her family detailed their concerns in the latest episode of The Kardashians, which was filmed from Disney’s offer to participate through to the performance.
“I thought I was busy before,” Kim mourned early on in the episode, calling her current workload as North’s momager “crazy.”
Beyond the responsibility to book and be present for the girl’s projects, she, of course, has to keep her daughter’s best interests in mind with every offer—after all, “The number one job, being a momager, is always being a mom first.”
So, when the offer to sing “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King” was received, the mother of four relied on her sister, Khloé Kardashian, to talk it out.
Khloé agreed that it was important to “set [North] up for success,” pointing out, “The world is just, like, mean,” as Kim expressed her hesitance. “I don’t know if she can sing Broadway,” she added.
In a separate confessional, Kim emphasized how “torn” she was about the opportunity. While North “is very comfortable performing,” her mom acknowledged that “she’s not a singer,” later emphasizing that she wasn’t “there to be Mariah Carey.”
“You know, she raps, and, I mean, she’s been on a stage with her dad, for sure, but, as a mom, especially putting her 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 on a platform for a lot of opinions, it’s something to really, really, really think about.”
But while some of the adults in her life were torn, North knew “right away” that she “want[ed] to do it,” and was nowhere near as nervous as her mother was as the big day approached.
Kim spent time crying in the bathroom during North’s first couple of rehearsals, stressing over the “big responsibility for a little kid…up on the stage with these amazing performers and Jennifer Hudson…”
“I’m just like, ‘Oh my God, like, this is insane,'” she recalled, but to North, “it was just no big deal.”
