By: Molly Mahoney ’18

In Paris’ No Address Hotel on October 2, two robbers, obscured by ski masks and 3:00 am darkness, held Kim Kardashian West at gunpoint before stealing the celebrity’s jewelry. The monetary loss equated to more than 10 million dollars, on top of the emotional damage that accompanies life threatening encounters.

Several accusations that West staged the robbery have recently gained popularity. Suspicions arose when onlookers noted the lack of security presence despite the reality star’s high profile, disarray in the apartment, and footage for popular show “Keeping Up With the Kardashians”. West is now suing Media Takeout and its owner, Fred Mwangaguhunga, on the grounds that their online articles about her faking the scene, which have since been removed from mediatakeout.com, are libelous in a federal lawsuit. West has since posed legal threats to Radar Online for similar reasons.

An anonymous Staples student comments, “Celebrities like Kim Kardashian will do anything to draw attention to themselves. It wouldn’t surprise me if it was all staged for the hype.”

However, not all of the student body agrees with the accusations against West. “It is sickening to see that such a traumatizing experience people feel the need to add salt to the wound,” says Monique Ostbye ’18. “These accusations go back to society’s refusal to listen to women when they share a story about a traumatic event and also celebrity culture. Kim Kardashian is a human and deserves to be treated with respect after such an event.”

Events continue to unfold as police investigations and legal actions progress.