If there’s any figure more controversial than Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, it’s hands down Kim Kardashian. Love her or hate her, you know the name, the face, and that booty. Personally, I’ve got a pretty ambivalent relationship with Kim K. She’s flashy, flamboyant and really obnoxious. I don’t follow her on social media. I've never seen one of her "snaps," but if nothing else is on television, I’ll catch a few minutes of “Keeping Up with the Kardashian’s” and thank the Lord my life is a WHOLE lot saner. I'm not a Kardashianite, but I'm also not a hater. I could really care less. But when I heard about what happened to Kim in Paris, my heart broke for her, and then my temper rose when I saw how she was being treated in the media.
Regardless of how you feel about Kim K, blaming Kim for her Paris robbery shows a sad reality of societal victim blaming, especially in incidents involving women. Earlier this month, Kim and family were in Paris, enjoying fashion week when Kim was locked in her bathroom robbed at gunpoint at a rented, luxury Paris apartment. The burglary was committed by a group of men disguised as police officers. The men got away with a reported $10 million worth of jewelry. Kim was left physically okay but understandably shaken.
I don’t care how much money or fame you have, an incident like this has to shake you to your core. Especially as a woman, alone. And while the incident is more than enough to have to recover from, Kim is also dealing with unprecedented victim-bashing from fellow celebrities and the media.
I get it. Kim is a social media maven. She posts anything and everything. And yes, she should be more careful when sharing her location. But so should every other woman, young woman and teenager. I would hate to think that my 12 year old sister could be sharing "snaps" with her location included.
I also get it, Kim’s flashy. But so what? That’s what she’s known for. We as a society BEG her to be flashy. And I don’t care how flashy she is or how many "snaps" she sends showing her location. That is NOT an invitation to be robbed at gunpoint. The same way young women wearing tight pants is NOT and invitation for sex. I’m so tired of the actions and attire of women being described as an invitation for violence on the behalf of men.
The sad thing, is that it’s not just men blaming Kim for the robbery. After the incident, the media exploded. Wendy Williams, host of the “Wendy Williams Show,” actually LAUGHED when she was first introduced to the incident. She even went as far as to poke fun of the gunman dressed as policeman. Then she chastised Kim for being alone. As women, we've got to stand up and support each other, especially during instances such as this.
I’m sorry, but did Kim K sign a contract that dictated she forfeit her freedom and independence in exchange for her celebrity? I mean, I’m no celebrity, but I’m pretty sure she didn’t. She has every right to be alone if she so chooses, and that doesn’t mean she deserves to be robbed at gunpoint.
Wendy Williams wasn’t alone in her treatment of Kim post robbery. The “Twitter-verse” went cray-cray with people throqing in their two-cents. Some showed their support but others played the blame game. I honestly could care less about Kim’s celebrity. I care about a women, in the privacy of her hotel room, being violated. She was held at gunpoint and had her property unrightfully and unlawfully taken. I don’t get it. How could this be her fault? And what kind of cruel, sick people would say she, or anyone else, deserves this?
Take the celebrity out the situation, remove your distaste for Kim and the rest of the Kardashians, and look at this incident for what it is, a cowardly attack on a woman--a mother, a sister, a daughter--alone, in her hotel room.
It breaks my heart, disgusts me, raises my temper to see any female victimized, and Kim Kardashian is no exception.