The speaker explained that narcissists harbor profound contempt toward others as a projection of their own shame, which stems from a deep-rooted sense of helplessness caused by trauma and abuse. This contempt allows narcissists to avoid embracing shame, thereby maintaining a false sense of moral and intellectual superiority while remaining stuck in a victim mentality. Additionally, the speaker differentiated contempt from grandiosity in narcissism, highlighting that grandiosity can be motivational and linked to uniqueness, whereas contempt is an attitudinal defense mechanism projecting perceived inferiority onto others.