This is all acceptable because she is an upper class white woman who took a small detour into poverty while she was in college (a very novel experience, I hear--being broke in college?? Weren't we all????) and somehow manifested that into an entire career.
Imagine being so steeped in privilege that being broke for a little bit seemed newsworthy.
Her story wouldn't have been told, It wouldn't have been received, if she was a person of color, period.