In the past, Frances Bean Cobain has opened up about drug use.
The daughter of Courtney Love and the late Kurt Cobain has come a long way, as a person and as an artist.
In a new interview, she explains that she offers fans authenticity -- in stark contrast to Kardashian fakery.
Speaking with Michelle Visage and RuPaul on their What's The Tea? podcast, Frances Bean Cobain has opened up about her work.
In the lengthy interview, the 26-year-old musician and visual artist speaks about what she values most in her work.
She says that what's important to her, and what she believes that audiences are craving, is "authenticity."
"That is what I’m trying to provide in the service of this world," Frances reveals.
She adds: "since it’s very lacking."
She then singles out one group of entertainers, in particular, whom she believes have set the tone for this era of entertainment.
"Like," Frances says, we're all living "in the age of the Kardashian."
That is fairly difficult to dispute.
Social media controls the fate of elections, entire careers are built or ruined on social media activity.
Also, the man sitting in the Oval Office having "executive time" is a reality star.
But Frances makes it clear that she's not disparaging the Kardashians.
"And that’s fine," she quickly says. "They specifically fill that role for a reason."
"But," Frances explains, in the world of entertainment: "Everything is so saturated and filtered and conceived."
Frances' visual art has won her an Emmy nomination, and she explains what sets her work apart.
The key for her work, in contrast to that of the Kardashians, is to make things "real."
"What people really are thirsty for, I think, in an artistic way," Frances speculates.
"Is being able to see somebody for who they are," she continues.
"All the messy bits involved," she elaborates.
Reality television is, as we all know, carefully produced and meticulously edited. Social media is similarly controlled.
Frances acknowledges that, thanks to her very talented parents, she has some major shoes to fill.
She says that she is prepared to be seen as "the female version of Kurt."
Considering that her late, great father took his own life when she was only 20 months old, that's a complicated place for her to be.
"If people need that outlet in order to look at my music and my art and go, ‘it’s just like your dad,’ that’s okay," Frances says.
"If that’s the association they make," she explains. "That’s a pretty damn good association."\
"There are," she notes. "Worse things to be called."
Frances does admit that she experienced some of the same pitfalls as her parents.
She has been accused of erratic behavior, "extreme hoarding" habits, and has opened up about her drug use.
That was part of her journey, and it led her to this place, where it sounds like she is much better adjusted.
She wasn't always ready for the mantle of her parents, but now she is.
We're just glad that she's doing okay.
Is her assessment of the Kardashians as carefully conceived valid?
Yes and no. There are aspects of the lives and drama of the Kardashians that not even Kris can plan.
But the omnipresence of cameras combined with social media and the long, long memory of the internet means that everyone wants to be picture-perfect.
That goes for more than just literal photos.
Some talented, funny celebrities don't tweet authentically because they want to maintain their branding image.
There is definitely a market for what Frances is offering.