Yes, Kim Kardashian is rich. Money doesn't protect her from robbery trauma, experts say
"Guilty? No, I don't care." That was the response from Yunis Abbas, one of the masterminds behind the 2016 Paris hotel robbery of Kim Kardashian. Abbas, released from jail pending trial for health reasons, revealed how exactly he pulled off the infamous heist, going into detail about the preparation and execution to steal more than $10 million in bling in a recent bombshell interview.
It's a source of trauma, panic and nightmares for Kardashian, who has hesitantly, yet vulnerably, opened up about it in the past. Tears visibly welled in her eyes during an emotional sitdown with David Letterman in 2020, when she recalled being tied up, gagged and blindfolded at gunpoint.
"I was just really scared of everything. I can't sleep at night unless there are a half a dozen security guards at my house and that has become my reality," Kardashian said at the time.
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Abbas acknowledged the psychological damage he may have caused. "I don't doubt it," he added, before deflecting blame onto the reality TV star for being "showy toward people who can't afford it." (Paste BN reached out to Kardashian's rep for comment).
The lack of compassion isn't surprising to psychologist Donna Rockwell, who has studied the psychological toll of fame for over two decades. But a person's well-being "has nothing to do with how much money they have in the bank," she says.
"We're all human beings. We all have a heart. We all want to feel loved and we all want to feel safe in the world. And there's no reason why celebrities have to bear some sort of extra burden because of their success."
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Kim Kardashian and the emotional trauma of burglary
The trauma of someone robbing you far exceeds any material items stolen. It's a violation of your safe space and sense of security. The experience of being physically restrained at gunpoint leaves behind emotional scars, and in some cases, a lifetime of paranoia and PTSD.
While Kardashian never said if she was depressed, the event made her more guarded, and "for a good year, I almost lost myself." "My mom (Kris Jenner) had to come over and say, 'Will you get out of bed? Will you put on something else other than sweats? Put on a little bit of makeup, feel like yourself again,'" she recalled in a 2018 interview.
Regardless of your financial status, "being robbed is an invasion of one's boundaries, one's personal space and one's physical items," says psychologist Carla Manly, author of "Joy from Fear: Create the Life of Your Dreams by Making Fear Your Friend." "It's not really about being able to replace an item. It's the fact that someone robbed you, invaded your privacy and made you feel terribly afraid."
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Despite an abundance of research supporting the psychological impact of robbery trauma, critics make an exception for Kardashian by continuing to mock and minimize her experience. It's a common yet dangerous mindset, Rockwell warns.
"To reduce Kim Kardashian’s experience to stolen jewelry doesn't speak to an awareness of emotional content and the part that trauma plays on our brains," Rockwell says. After being a victim of a violent crime, your body remains in a state of hyper-vigilance against incoming threats, "so yes, that does lead to post-traumatic stress disorder after acute stress disorder, which is what one (may) feel when a gun is pointed at us."
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Why we dismiss celebrities' mental health problems
People like Kardashian, characterized by immense wealth and fame, seem far removed from us. So when they talk openly about their mental health struggles, we often dismiss and mock them.
Part of it stems from jealousy of their privileged lifestyles and influence over millions of fans. When we're envious, we become angry and resentful, which Manly says results in de-humanization and a reduction in empathy. We blame Kardashian for her wealth, instead of condemning an unforgivable crime. We assume "that those who are wealthy are impervious to mental health issues, to stress, to trauma, to anxiety, because we believe that the wealth itself protects the celebrity from these natural human experiences," Manly says.
Unfortunately, it does not, and it's important for fans – and critics – to "understand that celebrities aren't always different than me. They are human just like us, and they shouldn't always be put on a pedestal," Rockwell says.
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