The Internet has been blowing up since Kim Kardashian was robbed at gunpoint in her Paris hotel room–and the public’s responses haven’t all been sympathetic. Naturally, everyone is looking for someone to blame, and many onlookers are blaming Kardashian for the incident. Designer Karl Lagerfeld blamed the reality star, saying that “You cannot display your wealth and then be surprised that some people want to share it with you.”
Many attendees of Paris Fashion Week seemed skeptical of Kardashian’s ordeal–one journalist said the whole incident sounded fake, echoed by another who thought that “the whole thing sounds made up.” An American fashion editor joked that Kardashian was probably drunk from the L’Oreal party and let the robbers in, or that she shouldn’t have Instagrammed photos in her hotel bathroom. And Kardashian’s former body guard says the robbery was “no surprise.” Refinery29 pointed out that many French tweeters have had totally unemotional responses to the incident–the one below translates to “Proud to be Parisian :).”
Amidst all the commotion, nobody seems to be concerned with the fact that she could have been killed. A woman who may be a controversial cultural icon, but who is also a daughter, a mother, a sister, and a wife. Like all of us, she is a person, and she went through something nobody should ever have to. People are blaming her for flaunting her wealth–so is she supposed to hide away her millions of dollars of jewelry for a rainy day instead of wear it for Fashion Week in one of the world’s most stylish cities?
Kim Kardashian isn’t immune from trauma. Obviously, she leads a privileged lifestyle and is wealthier than I will probably ever be. Maybe the public is reacting this way because they’re envious of Kardashian? Or simply because they don’t like her or think she earned her fame and status? Believing that she deserved to be tied up, gagged, and robbed because she flaunted her wealth is like believing someone deserved to be assaulted because they were wearing a short dress. It’s just wrong.