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17 ‘Keeping Up With the Kardashians’ moments that live rent-free in my mind

Kim, Kourtney and Khloe in 2006. What a time ti be alive. (Jeff Vespa, Photo by Jeff Vespa/WireImage)

It’s the end of an era: After almost two decades on our TVs, “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” is finally ending, and it’s truly the end of one of the most popular and formative reality TV shows ever.

What drew people to “Keeping Up” in the first place was how it was so much like a real life “Brady Bunch” or “Partridge Family,” except modern and slightly famous.

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Obviously, the show catapulted the entire family into becoming household names, but at first, Khloe Kardashian could have probably walked through a mall and never got recognized, before the show became a hit.

So after 18 seasons, they’re calling it quits -- which, honestly, is probably a good thing.

It’s not what it used to be, and I’m sure everyone is ready to move on and pursue other projects, whatever those may be.

But in those 18 seasons, and especially the earlier ones, we got some pretty iconic moments, to say the least: Moments that not only will go down in reality TV history, but are engraved in the history of pop culture.

Even if you’ve never watched the show, you probably know that if someone says “you’re doing amazing, sweetie” or “this is a case for the FBI,” they’re probably quoting Kris Jenner. And who hasn’t seen the meme of Kim Kardashian ugly-crying? Whether you like them or not, the Kardashians will be around forever.

So without further ado, here are the top moments from “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” that will forever live on in infamy, in no particular order.


When Kim dropped her diamond earring in the ocean and had a meltdown.

OK, so I know I said this was in no particular order, but let’s be honest, this is one of the most iconic moments from the show. One of Kim’s diamond earrings fell into the ocean while the family was vacationing together on some tropical island, and of course, Kim freaked out. The best part, though, is when Kourtney tells her sister to get it together with the forever quotable line, “Kim, there’s people that are dying.” That’s right, Kourtney. Give your sister some perspective!

When Kim and Kourtney got in a fight, and Kim basically told Kourtney she was ugly.

Kim and Kourtney were getting ready for the family’s famous Christmas card photo shoot, and suddenly, the two got into a fight. As any fan knows, this pair always bickers, but this fight was worse than others, and things especially got bad when Kim told Kourtney she was “the least exciting to look at.”

What’s even crazier about this moment is that it only happened a few years ago.

When Kris said ‘this was a case for the FBI.’

This iconic moment, that is one of the most used memes on the internet, happened at the end of season one. If you don’t remember, Kim learns that a man is trying to sell nude photos of an underage Kourtney, and after Kris spoke with a lawyer about the situation, she declared that “this was a case for the FBI.”

It’s now a meme so popular you can use it for just about anything. A package from Amazon is missing from your porch? It’s a case for the FBI. Your grocery store is out of almond milk? A case for the FBI.

When Kris told Kim she was ‘doing amazing, sweetie.’

Here’s another Kris Jenner line that will live on in internet culture forever: Not only is this hilarious moment from the first season of the show, but it also gave us one of the first peeks at Kris transforming into her daughter’s “mom-ager.” (Mom/manager).

Kim is at a (tasteful) photo shoot for Playboy, and Kris, like any supportive parent, is there to show love for her daughter. She delivers the iconic line as she takes her own photos of Kim at the shoot.

When Kylie swung on a stripper pole at the age of 10.

The very first episode of “Keeping Up” features a 10-year-old Kylie swinging around a stripper pole that was, of course, gifted to her by old sister Kim. It was the first reminder that this family was anything but normal, and perhaps it prepared us for what kind of show this was about to be.

When Kim menacingly said, ‘It’s what she deserves.’

I love this moment for two reasons. First of all, it’s so wild that Kim was so mad at her mom that she launched her mom’s phone down the stairs, hoping it would break. And obviously, the line delivery of “it’s what she deserves” by Kim in her confessional is just the icing on the cake. This is another line that can be turned into so many memes. Just hearing the words, you know they’re coming from a Kardashian.

When Kim hit Khloe with her purse.

Fighting and arguing is always going to go down in the Kardashian-Jenner household, but nothing will top this early-season fight between Kim and the rest of her siblings. Kourtney, Rob and forever-fan-favorite Khloe were talking about how Kim was annoying them, and of course, Kim overheard. That’s when Kim bursts into the room, utters “don’t be f------ rude,” to her siblings, and then hits Khloe over the head with her purse.

It’s one of those fights that is so dumb and silly, that you end up laughing at it -- then being shocked.

When Kim was taking selfies in the car while Khloe was on her way to jail.

After violating her probation from her 2007 DUI, Khloe had to go to jail, and being the supportive mother that she is, Kris makes sure to be there when she gets dropped off, along with Kim. On the car ride to jail, Kim cannot stop taking selfie after selfie, prompting Kris to give us another famous line when she says, “Kim, would you stop taking selfies? Your sister is going to jail.”

We’d later find out that Khloe only stayed in jail for three hours, but we’re still glad we got to witness this hilarious moment.

When Khloe got a DUI.

The camera didn’t film the exact moment when Khloe got a DUI, but she did, however, re-enact the arrest for the “Keeping Up” cameras.

(Don’t drink and drive!)

When Kourtney made fun of Kim’s ugly crying face.

If there’s one thing that “Keeping Up” fans know, it’s that Kim has an ugly crying face. The famous shot of her crying actually happened during a season of “Kourtney and Kim Take New York” (shout-out to “Kourtney and Khloe Take Miami” for being the best spin-off series ever), but there have been so many other moments when Kim ugly-cries -- and each time, you feel bad for her, but also can’t help but laugh.

In an early season, Kourtney says in her confessional that she feels the same way about Kim’s crying.

When Kylie thought her mom bought her a pet chicken, but it was really a pet pig.

I don’t know why this is so funny, but it just is. Kris comes home with a pet pig for Kylie (as any normal parent does), and for some strange reason, Kylie thinks it’s a chicken in her arms and not a pig. Whoops!

When Khloe married Lamar Odom after only a month of dating.

Now, this was a shock! We were all so happy that Khloe had found love, but instantly became concerned when Khloe decided to marry Lamar after only a month of dating. To make things worse, Caitlyn was so upset about that situation that she freaked out on Khloe. Eventually, all things were good and Caitlyn walked Khloe down the aisle.

When Kim married Kris Humphries and then got divorced 72 days later.

First of all, it should have been a red flag from the beginning that Kris Humphries spells his name the same way as Kris Jenner. Second, we all knew that marriage wasn’t going to last, and sure enough, 72 days later, Kim filed for divorce. What was even more shocking was when Kris Jenner later made fun of Kim for the short marriage.

When Kourtney gave birth to Mason and literally pulled him out.

Kourtney has always been one to march to the beat of her own drum, and that applied to the birth of her first son, Mason, as well. Kourtney literally pulled Mason out of her own body, shocking not only fans, but her family. Listening to Khloe explain how it all went down is hilarious. Oh, and Kourtney did it again when she gave birth to Penelope.

When Kris got a pet monkey.

This was obviously something the producers cooked up for shock and entertainment value, and you know what? It worked. Watching Kris Jenner feed a pet monkey and then realize just how insane it is to take care of a monkey will always be hilarious.

When Caitlyn became Caitlyn.

It was already crazy that Caitlyn and Kris were getting a divorce, but then when Caitlyn announced that she was transgender and would no longer go by Bruce, it ended up rocking the entire world. Here was one of the most famous Olympians ever, coming out as transgender.

Caitlyn’s coming out was supported by pretty much the entire family, but it still brought tension to some, like Kris and Khloe.

And finally, when they announced the show was ending.

One of the things that has made this last season of “Keeping Up” interesting and watchable has been them coming to terms that the show is ending -- like when they told the crew, some of whom have been with the show since the beginning. It was very emotional, and we’re sure Thursday night’s finale will be just the same.


Did we mention your favorite “Keeping Up” moment? Let us know in the comments!


About the Author
Jack Roskopp headshot

Jack is a Digital Content Editor with a degree in creative writing and French from Western Michigan University. He specializes in writing about movies, food and the latest TV shows.

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