Kim Kardashian features Alice Marie Johnson in new shapewear ad - Los Angeles Times
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Kim Kardashian has a new model: The woman she helped free from prison

Kim Kardashian West, left, and freed prisoner Alice Marie Johnson
Kim Kardashian West, left, has enlisted Alice Marie Johnson as part of her new shapewear campaign.
(Associated Press)
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First, Kim Kardashian West helped get Alice Marie Johnson out of prison. Now, she’s helping the 64-year-old grandma get into some Skims Solutionwear — as a model.

“I didn’t even know who Kim Kardashian was. She went to war for me, to fight for my freedom,” Johnson says in a new testimonial for Skims, wearing the shapewear line’s sculpting bodysuit. “That’s why I call her my war angel — because nothing stood between her and my freedom.”

Johnson, who was serving a life sentence plus 25 years for a nonviolent drug offense, was pardoned in mid-2018 after the reality TV mogul brought her case to President Trump’s attention. Kardashian has since gone on to argue on behalf of other prisoners and is studying to become a lawyer.

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Johnson’s video will join 25 other testimonials from women about how the undergarment line “empowers them to feel the best versions of themselves,” the Associated Press said.

Back in late June, Kardashian’s shapewear line drew criticism when it was first announced under the trademarked brand Kimono, forcing the star to pull back and regroup under a less culturally charged label.

It took about a week for Kardashian to give up on the Kimono name. Once she did, she then faced the hurdle of changing something that had already been printed on nearly 2 million garments.

“I’m the first person to say, ‘OK, of course, I can’t believe we didn’t think of this.’ I obviously had really innocent intentions,” Kardashian told the Wall Street Journal shortly after the controversy bubbled up. She explained that she had misunderstood the cultural significance of kimono.

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Kim Kardashian West, who disastrously tried to trademark the Japanese word “Kimono” for her shapewear line, has changed the name on the garments.

Aug. 26, 2019

Along with the Kimono name, Kardashian also changed out her models to include women of different shapes, sizes, skin colors and ages. Johnson fits right into that marketing strategy.

In her Skims testimonial, Johnson calls out the little things that are now “precious” to her, such as having the freedom to open a door and walk outside whenever she wants to and not having to wake up with another bunk above her bed.

“This shapewear makes me feel that I can walk into the store, I can pick up something that I normally wouldn’t even think about wearing, and I can put it on and it’s going to look great on me,” Johnson says in her ad. “This shapewear makes me feel free.”

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We see what you did there, Alice. Well played.

Skims garments hit the market Sept. 10 via Skims.com.

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