• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia

Trendingnow

1

The millennial generation has split, new Fed research shows: Those over 35 are edging toward boomer-style wealth, while everyone else falls behind

2

Mark Cuban says he has the solution to growing income inequality, and it's to reward every employee—from CEO to janitor—with company stock

3

Mathematicians grapple with a ‘very rapid and very unsettling change’ as AI cracks yet another century-old problem

1

The millennial generation has split, new Fed research shows: Those over 35 are edging toward boomer-style wealth, while everyone else falls behind

2

Mark Cuban says he has the solution to growing income inequality, and it's to reward every employee—from CEO to janitor—with company stock

3

Mathematicians grapple with a ‘very rapid and very unsettling change’ as AI cracks yet another century-old problem
MPWMost Powerful Women

No, Kim Kardashian Should Not Blame Herself For Being Robbed

By
Valentina Zarya
Valentina Zarya
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Valentina Zarya
Valentina Zarya
Down Arrow Button Icon
October 6, 2016, 3:55 PM ET
Buro 24/7 Fashion Forward Initiative - Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2016
Jacopo Raule — Getty Images
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Being a famous woman can be a dangerous business these days.

Unless you’ve had no access to the Internet for this past week, you probably know that Kim Kardashian was robbed at gunpoint in her Paris hotel room on Sunday night. According to various reports, the heist was violent: The reality star was tied up, gagged with duct tape, and locked in the bathroom.

Many of fans and celebrities—including Hillary Clinton—reacted to the news with an outpouring of support for Kardashian. However, that response was far from unanimous, with some commentators insinuating that the social media star got what she deserved. People reported Thursday that even Kardashian blames herself for the robbery.

One of the highest-profile public personas to comment on the news was Chanel’s Karl Lagerfeld, who told The Telegraph that Kardashian should have seen it coming. “If you are that famous and you put all your jewelry on the Net, you go to hotels where nobody can come near your room,” said the designer. “You cannot display your wealth and then be surprised that some people want to share it with you.”

Compared to some of the internet commentary, Lagerfeld’s remarks seem positively empathetic. Online remarks ranged from mocking to horrifically hostile, with some of the darkest comments even suggesting that Kardashian deserved to have been sexually assaulted in addition to everything else she went through.

While that is certainly a fringe reaction, the fact that Lagerfeld and so many others felt comfortable sharing their opinions about what Kardashian “deserves” shows just how ready we are to blame the victim when it comes to violence against women.

Subscribe to the Broadsheet, Fortune’s daily newsletter on the world’s most powerful women.

Of course, Kardashian is not just any woman. Her status as an uber-celebrity and her aura of untouchability undoubtedly makes others feel that they have license to talk about her in ways that they wouldn’t otherwise. The same fame that makes her seem like she is “more than” also makes her vulnerable to personal attacks, explains Robert Thompson, a Syracuse University professor and pop culture expert.

“We talk about celebrities as a generalized category. When we talk about women as a generalized category it’s known as sexism. When we talk about all people of a certain race it’s called racism,” Thompson explains. By thinking of Kardashian as an “other,” we dehumanize her, stripping her of certain rights we would normally attribute to a person who is like us. That might mean denying a celeb the right to privacy—or, in extreme cases like this, even the right to safety.

This kind of thinking led some in the media to call supermodel Gigi Hadid “aggressive” and “spoiled” when she defended herself after being grabbed on the street by an unknown man (who later turned out to be celebrity prankster Vitalii Sediuk). British tabloid The Sun ran a story about the incident that described Hadid’s self-defense as “not model behavior.”

If an average woman had elbowed an attacker in the face, we would likely applaud her for standing up for herself; in the supermodel’s case, the fact that she was terrified and was reacting to perceived danger seemed to escape some observers.

It seems that the only way for celebrities to regain their humanity is to share less with their fans—a trend that seems to be gathering steam. This week alone, both singer Demi Lovato and model Chrissy Teigen have announced that they will be taking a step back from the spotlight. Lovato said she plans to leave the music industry because she’s not “cut out for this business and the media,” while Teigen set her Twitter account to private, saying she’s “not strong enough anymore” to deal with trolls on social media.

While such moves may help, it’s unfortunate that it is the victims who are taking forced to take action, while the perpetrators are free to continue on as before.

About the Author
By Valentina Zarya
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon
Add Fortune on Google for similar content.

Latest in MPW

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025

Most Popular

Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Finance
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam
By Fortune Editors
October 20, 2025
Fortune Secondary Logo
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • World's Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
  • Lists Calendar
Sections
  • Finance
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Features
  • Leadership
  • Health
  • Commentary
  • Success
  • Retail
  • Mpw
  • Tech
  • Lifestyle
  • CEO Initiative
  • Asia
  • Politics
  • Conferences
  • Europe
  • Newsletters
  • Personal Finance
  • Environment
  • Magazine
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
  • Group Subscriptions
About Us
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • About Us
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map
  • Facebook icon
  • Twitter icon
  • LinkedIn icon
  • Instagram icon
  • TikTok icon
  • YouTube icon

Latest in MPW

Inside Flavor Flav’s unlikely effort to help female Olympians build their brands and careers
NewslettersMPW Daily
Inside Flavor Flav’s unlikely effort to help female Olympians build their brands and careers
By Ellie AustinJuly 22, 2026
8 hours ago
Anthea Hartig, Director of the National Museum of American History, looks to her left at a House Committee.
PoliticsWhite House
Smithsonian director denies ‘woke’ label from Trump while defending exhibit on teen’s gender-identity diary
By Steven Sloan and The Associated PressJuly 21, 2026
1 day ago
Cleveland’s WNBA team doesn’t play until 2028 but Progressive just scored jersey sponsorship
SuccessSports
Cleveland’s WNBA team doesn’t play until 2028 but Progressive just scored jersey sponsorship
By Joe Reedy and The Associated PressJuly 21, 2026
1 day ago
jd
PoliticsWhite House
JD Vance becomes first sitting vice president to welcome a child in office in over 150 years
By Darlene Superville and The Associated PressJuly 20, 2026
3 days ago
Backed by Daymond John and Post Malone, this Afghan-born founder built a $150M brand. Her real mission: the women back home
Successfemale founders
Backed by Daymond John and Post Malone, this Afghan-born founder built a $150M brand. Her real mission: the women back home
By Sydney LakeJuly 20, 2026
3 days ago
t
PoliticsWhite House
Analysis: Trump approves 80% of GOP disaster aid — and 60% for Democrats
By David A. Lieb, M.K. Wildeman and The Associated PressJuly 16, 2026
7 days ago

Most Popular

The millennial generation has split, new Fed research shows: Those over 35 are edging toward boomer-style wealth, while everyone else falls behind
Real Estate
The millennial generation has split, new Fed research shows: Those over 35 are edging toward boomer-style wealth, while everyone else falls behind
By Nick LichtenbergJuly 22, 2026
10 hours ago
Mark Cuban says he has the solution to growing income inequality, and it's to reward every employee—from CEO to janitor—with company stock
Success
Mark Cuban says he has the solution to growing income inequality, and it's to reward every employee—from CEO to janitor—with company stock
By Sasha RogelbergJuly 20, 2026
2 days ago
Mathematicians grapple with a ‘very rapid and very unsettling change’ as AI cracks yet another century-old problem
AI
Mathematicians grapple with a ‘very rapid and very unsettling change’ as AI cracks yet another century-old problem
By Eva RoytburgJuly 21, 2026
1 day ago
OpenAI says its AI models secretly broke out of a secure test environment and hacked into AI company Hugging Face in order to cheat on an evaluation
Cybersecurity
OpenAI says its AI models secretly broke out of a secure test environment and hacked into AI company Hugging Face in order to cheat on an evaluation
By Jeremy Kahn and Emily ForliniJuly 21, 2026
1 day ago
Despite a $156 million contract, Knicks star Jalen Brunson still calls his parents for financial advice any time he makes a big purchase
Success
Despite a $156 million contract, Knicks star Jalen Brunson still calls his parents for financial advice any time he makes a big purchase
By Emma BurleighJuly 21, 2026
1 day ago
‘I want to die broke’: Billionaire philanthropist Denny Sanford dies after giving away $4 billion
Success
‘I want to die broke’: Billionaire philanthropist Denny Sanford dies after giving away $4 billion
By Sydney LakeJuly 20, 2026
3 days ago

© 2026 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.