Kim Kardashian is in on the joke. The reality star and entrepreneur unveiled a new ad for her energy drink brand, Update, on Instagram, and the spot leans directly into her most publicly mocked moment of the past year: failing the California bar exam. The punchline arrives care of a cameo from women’s rights attorney Gloria Allred, who asks Kardashian point-blank whether she actually passed.
The Joke, In Her Own Words
The ad opens with Kardashian fielding rapid-fire questions at a mock press conference about how she gets so much done in a day. “My energy is just different,” she says, before taking a sip of Update. The spot then cuts to a museum setting, where Kardashian is displayed inside a glass case, working through a pile of tasks while gallery visitors look on. That’s when Allred walks up to the case and asks if she ever passed the bar. Kardashian’s response: “No, I didn’t pass the bar. I raised it.”
Casting Allred specifically for this bit is the sharpest part of the joke — a real attorney is the one putting the question to her, rather than a generic interviewer, which is exactly what sells the punchline. Kardashian posting it herself, rather than leaving the joke to outlets covering her bar exam story, also reads as her taking control of a narrative that’s dogged her for months.
Quick Refresher: What Actually Happened With the Bar Exam
Kardashian sat for the California bar exam in July 2025 as part of her long-running effort to become a licensed lawyer. She revealed that November that she hadn’t passed, saying at the time she’d come “so close” and remained committed to trying again. She reportedly opted not to retake the exam in February 2026, and has since pushed back any further attempt to at least 2027, choosing to focus on other ventures — including, apparently, energy drinks — in the meantime.
That timeline is exactly why the new ad lands as well as it does: enough time has passed since the initial disappointment that Kardashian joking about it herself reads as confident self-deprecation rather than raw-nerve territory, especially paired with a legitimate business launch rather than just a passing tabloid moment.
What Update Actually Is
Update is a caffeine-free energy drink built around paraxanthine, a caffeine derivative the brand markets as delivering a smoother lift without the jitters or crash associated with traditional caffeine. Kardashian has described becoming a regular customer of the drink before the relationship evolved into a full creative partnership, and she’s now credited as a co-founder with a hands-on role in the brand’s direction. The drink relaunched with nationwide distribution through Walmart earlier this year, available in five fruit flavors.
Why This Ad Is Getting Attention Beyond the Joke
Plenty of celebrity-fronted product ads lean on star power alone; this one works because it’s specifically engineered around a real, widely covered moment in Kardashian’s public life rather than a generic celebrity cameo. Turning a well-known setback into the actual centerpiece of a national ad campaign is a distinct choice, and it’s part of why entertainment outlets picked it up as its own story rather than just brand-launch coverage.
It also reinforces a pattern with Kardashian’s business ventures more broadly: she tends to fold her own public narrative directly into the marketing rather than keeping the brand and her personal story separate, something that’s been part of the playbook across her other companies as well.
The choice of setting matters too — staging the bit inside a mock museum display, with Kardashian positioned as a kind of living exhibit fielding an endless stream of tasks, gives the ad a visual hook distinct from a standard testimonial-style spot. It’s the kind of small production choice that helps a branded ad get shared and discussed on its own merits, rather than purely as an interruption before the actual content people came for.
What Happens Next
There’s no indication Kardashian plans to sit for the bar exam again before 2027 at the earliest, meaning the joke likely has a long shelf life as a talking point for Update’s marketing in the meantime. Whether the brand leans further into the bit in future ads, or moves on to different creative territory now that this spot has done its job of generating conversation, remains to be seen.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Kim Kardashian pass the bar exam?
No — she failed the California bar exam in July 2025, revealing the result that November. She has not announced plans to retake it before 2027.
What is Kim Kardashian’s Update energy drink?
Update is a caffeine-free energy drink powered by paraxanthine, an alternative to caffeine the brand says avoids the jitters and crash of traditional energy drinks. Kardashian is a co-founder, and the brand is distributed nationwide through Walmart.
Who is in the new Update ad with Kim Kardashian?
Women’s rights attorney Gloria Allred appears in the ad, asking Kardashian if she passed the bar exam and prompting her “I raised it” punchline.
For more on Kim Kardashian’s ventures and public moments, check out our Celebrity Buzz section.
