It is a truth universally acknowledged by the law that stealing nude photographs is a crime. However, according to some, when those naked pictures are of Kim Kardashian, she was asking for it.
Over the weekend, another round of stolen photos were leaked (likely by the same people), this time targeting celebrities like Gabrielle Union, Vanessa Hudgens, Hope Solo, and yes, Kim Kardashian. While a similar incident with Jennifer Lawrence's photographs was met largely with public outcry and sympathy, Kardashian has instead been subject to vitriol and victim-blaming.
As the Washington Post's Justin Moyer pointed out, commenters on Twitter were quick to wonder why we should even feel bad for Kardashian, because, presumably, she enjoyed her photos being stolen:
Here are the facts: Yes, Kim Kardashian once had a sex tape that was released publicly. Yes, she's posted photographs of herself on Twitter in revealing outfits. No, she doesn't deserve to have her private property stolen and splashed across the Internet. Yes, she is a victim of a crime.
We tend to have little sympathy for women who strive to be in the spotlight in a way we don't deem acceptable. We label them "attention whores," and ridicule them -- yet we tune into their shows and look at their sexy photos and google their sex tapes.
The difference between what these hackers did and a sexy selfie posted by Kardashian on Twitter, is that in the latter, she had agency and power. In the other, her privacy was violated, used to demean and degrade her publicly.
As The Telegraph's Daisy Buchanan wrote: "The fact that Kim chooses to reveal her body so often should make this argument clearer, not more confusing. When Kim wants to do it, it’s her choice. When she doesn’t want to do it -- yet someone does it for her, without her permission, or consent -- it’s invasive and distressing."
You don't have to keep up with the Kardashians to realize that a crime is a crime is a crime.
Related
Before You Go
