Van Jones' friends hailed him a "hero" when he was rumoured to be dating Kim Kardashian.

Bang Showbiz Van Jones friends hailed him a 'hero'

The CNN host was romantically linked with the SKIMS founder after she split from husband Kanye West last year and though his college pals had a lot of praise for the self-proclaimed "nerd" over the gossip, the pair insisted they were just working on criminal justice reform together.

Kim is the latest guest on his 'Uncommon Ground with Van Jones' podcast, and the 53-year-old presenter said of the speculation: “I know it was so weird. I was like, ‘No, we’re just working on trying to get people out of prison,’ but it was a cool rumour.”

Kim agreed: “Yeah. So many people asked me also and I was like, ‘You guys … I need a minute before I’m out there. You know? Give me a minute, at least.'”

The pair are still working together on legal matters and Kim's bid to become an attorney and the 41-year-old star - who is now dating Pete Davidson - praised Van for encouraging her to continue to follow her ambitions even after she failed the baby bar for a third time.

Recalling how she was "so nervous" on her fourth try - which she passed - she said: “I thought … maybe [I’m] not meant to do this.

“And you guys kept pushing me and, you know, obviously not to make any excuses, but you know, with four kids and work and so much going on, I realised I just wasn’t ready like at those times, but I never gave up.

“I was mortified every time I had to write you and be like, well, didn’t pass it this time. Well, didn’t pass it again.”

But Van - who graduated from Yale Law School in 1993 - remained encouraging.

He said: "No way … Well, first of all, it’s almost impossible to pass. And the people who are usually taking it are people who can focus on it. You got four kids and all kind of stuff.

“And by the way, I mean, most people don’t admit this, [but] I didn’t pass the bar the first time either.”