Kim Kardashian Reveals Who She First Called to Free Alice Marie Johnson

Kim Kardashian revealed the first person she called to start the process of freeing Alice Marie Johnson from prison.

In an interview with TODAY host Hoda Kotb, the reality star revealed she first called Ivanka Trump, who reportedly got things in motion in the first place. During the interview, with both Kardashian and Johnson, Kardashian explained how Johnson came to be released from prison last week while serving a life sentence.

The call to Ivanka, led to the May 30 meeting between Kardashian and President Trump where she pleaded for clemency on behalf of Johnson. A week later, Trump commuted Johnson’s life sentence.

“Ms. Johnson has accepted responsibility for her past behavior and has been a model prisoner over the past two decades,” the White House said in a statement.

The KKW Beauty CEO first learned about Johnson’s story in 2017 and declared it “unfair” in a tweet, she then decided to work on getting Johnson justice.

“Because I knew that I had the resources to do that. It became this mission that I just didn’t want to give up,” Kardashian said.

“I mean, I think to some people it might seem like, ‘Okay, Kim made a phone call to the president, showed up.’ We had been in talks and working on this for seven months. And it wasn’t an instant thing. It was a lot of work,” she continued.

Johnson admitted she did not know who Kardashian was when she first learned the reality star was advocating for her release.

After her pardoning was announced, Kardashian was the one who broke the news to Johnson in a phone call where she told her she could finally go home.

The interview with TODAY was also the first time Johnson and Kardashian met in person.

“When she said that, I went into full-fledged Pentecostal holy dance,” Johnson recalled. “I started screaming and jumping.”

Kardashian added she could imagine herself continuing to work on behalf of other people in similar situations to Johnson’s.

“People have been asking me are you getting into politics? Like no. I’m still doing me. But I enjoy this,” she said. “This has fulfilled my heart and so since I feel so fulfilled, why would I stop that?”

Johnson revealed she is both grateful and protective to her advocate. She said she keeps a photo of the reality star and her husband, Kanye West, in her Bible.

Johnson also said she plans to use her newfound freedom to speak out on behalf of other nonviolent, first-time offenders.

“I plan on continuing to magnify this issue. And I can’t stop. I can’t stop. I’ve lived it,” she said. “I’ve walked with them. I have cried with them. My life is completely intertwined forever with those who were left behind. So it can’t end here.”