For Variety's "Actors on Actors" interview series, Kim Kardashian, 43, was paired with Chloe Sevigny, 49. The sit-down was met with backlash for pairing Kardashian - who has had one acting role in "American Horror Story: Delicate" - with Sevigny, who has been acting for decades and nominated for Oscars.
"Why are we calling Kim K an actor???" one Instagram user commented on Variety's post Tuesday.
"An incredibly talented and professional actress and then there's Kim Kardashian," another wrote.
"It's disappointing to see the continued focus on celebrity culture over substantive conversations in the entertainment industry. There are countless talented actors deserving of recognition beyond the realm of tabloid headlines," a third critic shared.
Now, the outlet's editor-in-chief is clarifying what happened behind the scenes.
Ramin Setoodeh addressed the backlash in an episode of Meghan McCain's podcast, Citizen McCain, which was published Friday.
He said the "Big Love" star "graciously stepped in" after the original plan for the interview went awry.
"I'm gonna give you a little bit of information. I'm going to break some news: Chloe Sevigny wasn't supposed to pair with Kim Kardashian," he said.
"Kim Kardashian had someone else that she was supposed to pair with and that actor called in sick on a Friday night, and Kim was supposed to do this on a Sunday."
He said Sevigny was chosen because she shared something in common with Kardashian, since they've both been in Ryan Murphy shows. Kardashian was in "American Horror Story" and Sevigny was in two earlier seasons of that show, along with "Feud: Capote vs. The Swans."
"Chloe was incredibly gracious, she stepped in at the last minute and came into this conversation with Kim," he explained. "But that wasn't her original acting partner."
He didn't reveal which actor was originally scheduled to talk to Kardashian because he "didn't want to draw undue attention to the person," he said. "But maybe on social media, if someone guesses correctly, I'll do a little heart on their [post]."
After the outlet unveiled the cover, some fans thought Sevigny was throwing shade when she re-posted the announcement to her Instagram Stories and captioned it, "Always nice to be included. Thank you @Variety."
"What was so funny about all the press, everyone was talking about how Chloe was trying to shade Kim, [but] she wasn't," he said.
"She was saying she was so happy to be included. Chloe was really excited to talk to Kim. I was in the greenroom with her right before she went on and they really liked each other."
Sevigny defended Kardashian, posting their joint cover on Instagram on Wednesday. "Our chosen career of actor has many forms," she wrote. "Some are rewarded early. Some of us are the journeymen, some have a quieter route, and some a much louder one. And I am always excited to celebrate every kind of actor."
Setoodeh added, "I think people have strong feelings about Kim Kardashian and they don't like that she's acting even though she was a star of her own show on FX, 'American Horror Story.'"
