scorecardThe 7 most cringeworthy moments on 'The Kardashians' season 3
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The 7 most cringeworthy moments on 'The Kardashians' season 3

Palmer Haasch   

The 7 most cringeworthy moments on 'The Kardashians' season 3
Kris Jenner got an MRI in season three of "The Kardashians."Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic; Hulu
  • "The Kardashians" season three covered a lot of ground – and some of it was pretty cringe.
  • Its central beef was Kourtney and Kim Kardashian's feud over Kim's Dolce & Gabbana show.

"The Kardashians" season three covered a lot of ground, from Khloé Kardashian getting a tumor removed from her face, to Kim Kardashian and Kourtney Kardashian Barker beefing over Dolce & Gabbana, to a birthday party full of many Kris Jenners.

After a second season that focused on the family's businesses and Kim Kardashian's quest to wear Marilyn Monroe's dress to the 2022 Met Gala, season three had a bit more drama. And while there are plenty of killer moments — Scott Disick's appearance on the season was a highlight — there have been some missteps as well.

Here are seven of the most cringeworthy moments on season three of "The Kardashians."

Kim worrying about the Kardashian name dying out if Rob Kardashian doesn't have a boy

Kim worrying about the Kardashian name dying out if Rob Kardashian doesn
Rob Kardashian has not yet appeared on camera on "The Kardashians."      (Photo by Gabe Ginsberg/Getty Images)

During a conversation with Khloé Kardashian and Scott Disick in season three, episode one, Kim worries about the Kardashian name ending with her brother, given that her children (and her sisters') have taken their surnames of their respective fathers.

"Do you know what, you guys? If Robert doesn't have a son, the Kardashian name is dead forever," Kardashian says.

"I'm not even joking," she says severely after Khloé snorted.

The comment prompts a conversation about male reproductive qualities — and the fact that Rob, who shares 6 year-old daughter Dream Kardashian with his ex Blac Chyna, has plenty of time to have a son to carry on the family's name.

Kourtney asking Khloé to wait so that she and Travis Barker can have sex

Kourtney asking Khloé to wait so that she and Travis Barker can have sex
Kourtney Kardashian Barker and Travis Barker ask Khloé Kardashian if they can pop out to have sex on "The Kardashians."      Hulu

In season three, episode one, Kourtney and Khloé have a conversation — but not before Kardashian Barker and her husband can have sex first, as they were trying to conceive a child (Kardashian Barker is now pregnant).

"I know that I'm already late for you, but I am ovulating. Do you mind if you give us five minutes to go do something really fast?" Kourtney asks her sister, as she wiggles on Barker's lap.

Kourtney eventually returns within the span of 15 minutes, running upstairs with mussed hair and telling her sister that it was "record time."

The entire exchange is a step beyond the couple's typical PDA on the show, but not too far out of line — after all, in season one, they bantered with a fertility clinic nurse about how to collect Barker's sperm sample.

Kim and Khloé addressing criticism of the show's previous season with Scott Disick

Kim and Khloé addressing criticism of the show
Kim Kardashian, Scott Disick, and Khloé Kardashian chat on "The Kardashians."      Hulu

In season three, episode two, Kim, Khloé, and Disick explicitly discuss Variety TV critic Daniel D'Addario's review of season two. In that review, D'Addario remarks on the show's "plot-free" and "work obsessed" nature, and the way that it skirts newsier topics like Blac Chyna's lawsuit against members of the family, or discussions around Kim's ex-husband Ye, formerly known as Kanye West (she grapples with his antisemitic comments in season three).

"While they're under no obligation to express things about which they'd rather keep silent, it won't come as a surprise if, in time, the public's attention begins to move on," D'Addario writes.

The review isn't so much arguing that the family needs to share more of their personal lives — moreso, that not doing so runs contradictory to their historic brand, and that it may dilute their position in the culture.

Kim, Khloé, and Disick's criticism of that criticism doesn't go quite that deep, cherry picking and bit-by-bit refuting specific lines from the review. Selectively reading bits of a review to refute them live on air — and diluting its message to "the Kardashians don't share enough on TV" — is pretty cringey.

Kim and Kourtney's extended feud over Kim's Dolce & Gabbana show

Kim and Kourtney
Kim Kardashian at the Dolce & Gabbana fashion show she curated, and Kourtney Kardashian Barker at her wedding.      Daniele Venturelli/WireImage;

Everything about this feud, unfortunately, was a bit cringey, and it played out over the course of multiple episodes. To briefly sum it up: Kourtney was mad at Kim for curating a Dolce & Gabbana show less than a year after her wedding, which was designed by the fashion brand. Eventually, the sisters resolved their concerns, but not without plenty of side chats with friends and family — and petty comments made in confessionals.

Highlights included Kourtney saying that Kim never acknowledged how "amazing" her wedding was, Kim saying that Kourtney "stole my fucking wedding country and my wedding performer" by having Andrea Bocelli perform at her Italian wedding, and Kim saying that Kourtney "doesn't have any friends" besides her husband Travis Barker.

Kris Jenner getting a full body MRI

Kris Jenner getting a full body MRI
Kris Jenner before going into the Prenuvo MRI machine.      Hulu

In season three, episode seven, Kris Jenner gets a full-body MRI scan at Prenuvo, a startup that provides preventative scans to screen for diseases like early-stage cancer. The episode features conversations with Prenuvo's head of strategic partnerships, and its co-founders, one of whom personally interpreted Jenner's scan.

The entire moment, which falls into a pattern of the family endorsing expensive healthcare treatments, ends up coming across as a bit tone-deaf. While it's hard to fault Jenner for using her wealth to preserve her health in any way she can, her comments in a confessional about being "proactive" about her health while seeking out a treatment many cannot afford feel out-of-touch at best.

Kim pranking her family by saying she was going on "The Bachelorette"

Kim pranking her family by saying she was going on "The Bachelorette"
Kim Kardashian pranks her family by telling them that she's doing "The Bachelorette."      Hulu

In season three, episode eight, Kim decides to prank her family by announcing some personal news. In an extremely drawn out bit that seems engineered for reality television, she tells her family that she has been cast as the new "Bachelorette," on the popular ABC franchise. ABC (and Hulu, where "The Kardashians" airs) are both owned by Disney — and Kim gets a Disney exec in on the joke. Kris Jenner's disapproval is palpable. Khloé is more overt, asking her sister, "Are you okay?"

After many minutes, Kim reveals that it's a prank. To be honest, it's pretty funny. But the family's abject disapproval is cringey, as is the backtracking that they love "The Bachelorette" — just not for Kim.

Kourtney gets some backlash over her Boohoo partnership

Kourtney gets some backlash over her Boohoo partnership
Kourtney Kardashian Barker at the Boohoo X Kourtney Kardashian fashion show during New York Fashion Week in September 2022 in New York City.      Gotham/WireImage

In episode 10, Kourtney speaks about her partnership with Boohoo, a fast-fashion brand. She collaborated with Boohoo as a sustainability ambassador, releasing a collection with the brand. That collaboration drew some criticism, as Insider previously reported, with people accusing her of "greenwashing."

Kourtney directly addresses that criticism on the show with a great deal of candor, and expresses what seems to be a genuine desire to learn more about sustainability, both of which are admirable. But it's still difficult to reconcile her desire to use her platform while still promoting a fast-fashion brand, and the moment on the show still sometimes comes across as cringey.

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