Kim Kardashian: ‘I Am So Much Smarter Than I’m Portrayed’

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Kim Kardashian knows what people think of her, and she’s setting the record straight in the new issue of Rolling Stone. “I believe that I am so much smarter than I’m portrayed,” she says in the magazine’s cover story, unveiled just a day after she gave a talk about selfie empowerment and the objectification of women in the media. The issue doesn’t hit newsstands until Friday, but the magazine is offering readers a preview of its contents:

She’s blunt about her brother’s appearance and lifestyle: “It’s not that mysterious, what’s happening with Rob,” she says. “He has gained weight. He feels uncomfortable being on the show, and that’s OK. Do I think he smokes weed, drinks beer, hangs out and plays video games with his friends all day long? Yes.”

She doesn’t keep up with the latest technology—at least when it comes to music: “I still make mix CDs,” says Kim, who was a self-professed “Backstreet [Boys] girl” in high school. “I have an older computer with a disk drive so I can do it.”Her first concert was an Earth, Wind and Fire show.

She first learned her stepfather wore women’s clothing 12 years ago: “I was shaking,” she says of the encounter with Caitlyn Jenner back when she was still living as Bruce. “I didn’t know if I’d just found out his deepest, darkest secret, and he was going to come after me.” Jenner called her and told her not to tell anyone until Jenner was ready to talk about it. Kardashian’s husband, Kanye West, has since helped her understand Jenner’s transition. “He lives his life the way he wants, a really authentic life, and he was like, ‘If you can’t be authentic and you can’t live your life, what do you have?'”

See Kim Kardashian's Most Memorable Magazine Covers

Kim Kardashian Cover
Kardashian was photographed by the controversial photographer Terry Richardson for her Rolling Stone cover. In the issue she talks about Caitlyn Jenner, her marriage to Kanye West and her love for the Backstreet Boys.Terry Richardson—Rolling Stone
Kim Kardashian Cover
From the #worldsmosttalkedaboutcouple to the #worldsmosttalkedaboutbutt. Kim Kardashian already got national attention for being naked when a sex tape went public in 2007, but as the new cover of Paper magazine suggests, it's still her body — not her multi-million dollar iPhone game, not her TV show, not her marriage to Kanye West — that has the power to "break the Internet."Jean-Paul Goude—Paper
Kim Kardashian Cover
Kardashian called her first Vogue cover "a dream come true," while critics accused to magazine of chasing what was trendy rather than defining it. "As for the cover, my opinion is that it is both charming and touching, and it was, I should add, entirely our idea to do it," Anna Wintour said in its defense.Annie Leibovitz—Vogue
Kim Kardashian Cover
Before Kanye and Kim posed for Vogue, they posed on the cover of the French magazine L'Officiel Hommes in 2013. Is this just a strikingly suggestive pose or actual candid moment between now-spouses? Probably a little of both when it comes to this steamy photo shoot.Nick Knight—L'Officiel Hommes
Kim Kardashian Cover
In 2012, Kardashian graced the cover of V magazine — shot by Nick Knight, who also shot her L'Officiel Hommes cover — and defended her reality show empire in the magazine's pages by comparing it to rap music. "When rap music first came out, people were like, 'We don't understand this, what is this, it's just a fad.' But rap music is definitely here to stay, and I think reality shows have proven they are as well."Nick Knight—V Magazine
Kim Kardashian Cover
Channeling the typographic work of the iconic American artist Barbara Kruger, the cover of W magazine's November 2010 issue found Kim Kardashian (almost) bearing it all. Inside its pages, the only layer she had on was a thin coat of silver body paint.Mark Seliger—W Magazine
Kim Kardashian Cover
Kim Kardashian lands magazine covers because she's a familiar face, but that didn't matter to YRB. The magazine made her look near unrecognizable in a bob and dramatic makeup for a 2012 photo shoot that she later called "one of the most unique shoots [she's] ever done."YRB
Kim Kardashian Cover
Two of America's biggest style icons met in 2009 when Kim Kardashian dressed up like Barbie, who "guest edited" an issue of Australia's Kurv magazine. But it's no surprise the star would say yes to a magazine that starts with the letter K.Kurv
Kim Kardashian Cover
A 2009 shoot for Complex caused controversy when the magazine's website accidentally published an unretouched photo of Kim Kardashian. While it reignited the ongoing debate about beauty standards, Kardashian herself wasn't mad. "So what? I have a little cellulite," Kardashian later wrote on her website. "What curvy girl doesn't? How many people do you think are Photoshopped? It happens all the time!"Complex
Kim Kardashian Cover
Kim Kardashian was the most-clothed person on the cover of Prestige magazine's September 2010 issue when she posed with two naked men while looking like a sexed-up gladiator. "This might be one of my most risque covers to date!" she tweeted.Prestige
Kim Kardashian Cover
In 2012, Kim Kardashian covered New York magazine's fashion issue, which asked whether she had a place in the industry. Since then, she's only shown that the answer to that question is a resounding yes as she attended Paris Fashion Week and the Met Ball and landed that Vogue cover — a magazine that in the past has been not-so-open-minded about women with curvy figures like hers.New York Magazine

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Write to Nolan Feeney at nolan.feeney@time.com