During the premiere of Matt James' season of The Bachelor viewers were introduced to socialite Kit Keenan. She caught everyone's attention with her feathery dress and her apparent lack of appreciation for Queen Victoria Larson's antics. However, if her podcast "Ageless" is anything to go by, Kit may be playing up the clueless socialite role for the cameras.
On night one Kit Keenan opted to step out of a Bentley rather than a limo, which felt too much like a "ride share" to her. Her official job said fashion entrepreneur, which is true: Kit has her own brand called KIT, which stands for "Keep It Together." She is able to have her own fashion line at the age of 21 thanks to her mother, Cynthia Rowley, who is a famous fashion designer to the stars. Kit is also a student at NYU, and she told Matt the was born and raised in New York City. When she was interrupted by Victoria she did not take kindly to being called a princess, and she slowly told the camera, "You can be the queen of your little thing, but, like, no, I'm the president, king, CEO." During the premiere Kit played up her rich-girl persona, and while she certainly is rich, her podcast with her mom shows that there is more to her than feathers and fashion.
Kit and Cynthia Rowley's podcast is called "Ageless," and in each episode the pair explores "fashion, business, wellness, and motherhood through the lens of our adventures around the world." While the description may sound like it would be a surface-level podcast, the guests they invite on provide insightful and meaningful outlooks into relevant social issues. In one recent podcast from December Kit sat down with members of The Unplug Collective, which describes itself as "a platform where Black women and gender-expansive people have been sourcing and sharing stories about body discrimination, mental health and more since 2019." Kit and the Unplug Collective's founders discuss racism and sexism in the fashion industry, medical bias, and body positivity vs body neutrality. Other topics of discussion on Kit's podcast have included intersectional feminism in surfing, food and agricultural justice, and eating disorders in the fashion industry.
Some of the episodes mentioned above were recorded long before Kit went on The Bachelor, which proves that she had a broad and educated perspective going into the show. Many fans assumed from the way she speaks and from her background that she would be just another vapid villain. Kit may have purposefully fed into those assumptions by playing up her rich-girl antics. However, Bachelor fans know that the producers often control how you come across, so it's possible that Kit didn't realize she'd be given the role of stereotypical socialite.
Given the background of some of the women on Matt James' season, like Racheal Kirkconnel, who has been accused of racism and bullying, Kit Keenan may turn out to be one of the more likable contestants of the season. Or, she might play into viewer expectations and create drama out of her socialite schtick. Either way, it's nice to see a Bachelor contestant engaged in real issues, even if it stays offscreen.
The Bachelor season 25 airs Mondays at 8pm EST on ABC.
Source: Ageless Podcast