Stephen Fry says he doesn’t ‘understand’ the Kardashians and ‘wouldn’t know one from the other’

He knows it’s a pop culture phenomenon, but Stephen Fry has declared that he has no interest in Keeping up with the Kardashians.

The actor and comedian said he didn’t “understand” the hype surrounding the famous family, as he admitted that the subject would stump him if it came up during a quiz show.

Keeping Up with the Kardashians follows the Kardashian family, including sisters Kim, Khloe, Kylie and Kendall, as they navigate their respective relationships, breakups and business ventures.

The show propelled them to global fame, with Kim and Kylie in particular regarded as successful business moguls due to their brands, which include Skims and Kylie Cosmetics.

Despite this, Fry told The Guardian that he “wouldn’t know one Kardashian from another” although he added: “I know they exist, and I know most of their names begin with K.”

“I’m not being fake ignorant, I genuinely just don’t understand,” he said. “I don’t see why I should go to Wikipedia and read up on the history of the Kardashian family.”

He continued: “I know it’s a phenomenon. And all phenomena are worthy of interest in the human story, I suppose. But there isn’t room for everything.”

The broadcaster also added K-pop, Girls Aloud, indie and hip-hop to his list of topics to avoid.

However, he said his husband, Elliot Spencer, had taught him “to love and respect Kendrick Lamar”, the Grammy-winning rapper behind hits such as “Humble” and “Swimming Pools”.

He also said he admired Eminem, who according to Fry “has genuine poet skills and is quite exciting to listen to”.

The Golden-Globe nominated actor was rushed to hospital in September last year after falling six feet from the stage at the O2 Arena in London. Fry had been delivering a speech on Artificial Intelligence when the incident took place.

He was left with a broken leg, pelvis and ribs as a result, but said he was now “whole and healed” following physiotherapy in an interview with Good Morning Britain in December last year.

“The doctors said I was lucky,” he told the GMB hosts. “People have had a fall from a lesser height and might not walk again. I was very fortunate.”

Fry next stars as the voice of Leonardo da Vinci in new stop-motion movie The Inventor.

Directed by Oscar-nominated writer Jim Capobianco, famous for working on The Lion King and Ratatouille, the movie follows the story of the insatiably curious polymath as he leaves Italy to experiment freely, invent machines and study the human body.

The Inventor is in Vue cinemas from 8 March.