If you’ve spent more than five minutes on the Kardashian side of the internet, you’ve probably seen it. A grainy, 1980s-tinted montage of a younger, short-haired woman singing while driving a convertible and—most bizarrely—walking on a treadmill. It’s camp. It’s kitschy. It’s peak Beverly Hills.
That woman is Kris Jenner. The song is "I Love My Friends." Long before she was the world’s most famous "momager" or managing a billion-dollar family empire, Kris was just a 30-year-old housewife with a dream and a VHS camera. Well, and a lot of very famous friends. What started as a goofy birthday gift in 1985 has turned into a legendary piece of pop culture history that fans still obsess over in 2026.
Why Kris Jenner I Love My Friends Is More Than a Meme
In 1985, for her 30th birthday, Kris Jenner decided she didn't just want a party. She wanted a production. She teamed up with her then-husband, Robert Kardashian Sr., to record a parody of Randy Newman’s "I Love L.A."
Except she swapped the lyrics to celebrate her own social circle.
Honestly, the lyrics are pretty iconic in their simplicity. "November 5th and now I’m 30 / Riding down the highway with my friends at my side," she sings. She mentions the cheesecake at Nate ‘n Al’s. She talks about shopping at the Valentino boutique.
It’s a time capsule of a specific kind of 80s wealth. But the real reason this video stays relevant isn’t just the "so bad it's good" singing. It’s who appears in the background.
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The Cameos That Made History (and Headlines)
Watching the video today feels a bit like a fever dream because of the people popping up to shout "She loves you!" back at the camera.
- The Kids: A very young Kourtney, Kim, and Khloé make appearances. They’re basically toddlers, completely unaware they’d one day be the biggest stars on the planet.
- The Inner Circle: You see faces like Faye Resnick and Sheila Kolker, women who have remained in Kris’s orbit for decades.
- The Infamous Connection: Perhaps most jarringly, O.J. Simpson and Nicole Brown Simpson are featured prominently. At the time, they were the Kardashians' best friends. Looking back at those clips now, knowing what happened a decade later, adds a layer of dark complexity to what was meant to be a lighthearted birthday video.
The 60th Birthday Remake: Keeping the Legacy Alive
Fast forward to 2015. Kris was turning 60. The world had changed. The Kardashians were now a global phenomenon.
To surprise their mother, the sisters decided to recreate the Kris Jenner I Love My Friends video shot-for-shot. They didn't just do a low-budget version; they went full Hollywood.
They got celebrities like Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, and even Kanye West to appear in the remake. It was a massive flex. It showed that while the production value had gone up, the core of Kris’s brand—her intense, almost obsessive loyalty to her social circle—hadn’t changed a bit.
The remake proved that Kris wasn't just in on the joke. She was the joke, and she was profiting from it.
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How "I Love My Friends" Defines the Jenner Brand
People often ask how Kris Jenner became so successful. Was it luck? Strategy?
If you look at "I Love My Friends," you see the blueprint. Kris has always been a "super-connector." She understands that in Hollywood, your network is your net worth.
Loyalty as a Business Strategy
When Kris says "I love my friends," she isn't just being sentimental. She’s describing her business model. She builds "chosen families" out of her business partners.
Take her recent friendship with Lauren Sánchez, for example. In 2024 and 2025, the two have been inseparable, appearing at everything from Jeff Bezos’s yacht parties to the Met Gala. Kris doesn't just "hang out." She integrates her friends into her brand and vice versa.
- She hosts private lunches for their book releases.
- She gifts them custom Judith Leiber bags.
- She even allegedly has a "secret password" with her plastic surgeon, Dr. Steven Levine, so her real friends can get priority consultations.
It sounds over-the-top, but it's how she maintains power. By being the woman everyone wants to be friends with, she stays at the center of every important conversation in the industry.
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What Most People Get Wrong About the Video
A lot of people think the "I Love My Friends" video was a failed attempt at a music career. It wasn't.
Kris never actually tried to be a pop star. She’s the first to admit she can’t sing. The video was always meant to be a private joke for a birthday party. The fact that it leaked and became a meme is just a testament to the public’s obsession with anything Kardashian-related.
It’s a reminder that even 40 years ago, Kris was documenting her life. She was "vlogging" before vlogging was a word. She was creating content before the "creator economy" existed.
Actionable Takeaways from the Momager’s Playbook
You don't need a Beverly Hills mansion to use the Kris Jenner method of friendship and branding.
- Document Everything: Even if it feels cringe now, your "I Love My Friends" moment might be a valuable memory (or a marketing asset) in twenty years.
- Network Horizontally: Kris didn't just try to befriend bosses; she built a tribe of peers who grew with her. Look at the people around you now and find ways to lift each other up.
- Own the Narrative: When the internet started making fun of her 1985 video, Kris didn't hide it. She leaned in. She let her kids remake it.
If you want to see the original "I Love My Friends" video in all its 80s glory, it’s easily found on YouTube. Just be prepared to have the chorus stuck in your head for the next three days. It’s a catchy, slightly off-key reminder that Kris Jenner has been running the show since 1985, and she’s not stopping anytime soon.
To truly understand the "Momager" era, start by looking back at the woman on the treadmill. She knew exactly where she was going.