UPDATE: Online retailer Costumeish has pulled a Halloween costume that made light of the recent jewelry heist involving Kim Kardashian.
“Parisian Heist,” which featured a bound and gagged Kardashian lookalike dressed in a white robe and sporting a giant ring, didn’t include the reality TV star’s name. It was being sold for nearly $70.
The company’s founder, Johnathon Weeks, told Time that the costume was designed to provoke a strong reaction. He says he didn’t want to “make light of a serious situation,” and added that the company wasn’t mocking her.
Costumeish’s Twitter account announced Tuesday the costume had been pulled and apologized if it “offended anyone.”
ORIGINAL STORY: Is there no end to the Kim Kardashian robbery fallout?
Less than a week after the reality TV star was blaming herself for the terrifying robbery that saw five armed men break into her Paris apartment, tie her up and steal more than $10 million worth of jewelry, California-based company Costumeish has created a “Parisian Heist Robbery Victim Costume Kit” for Halloween.
Although there is no direct mention of Kardashian, the composition of the costume undeniably references her.
It comprises a white robe, long black wig, oversized sunglasses, a gag and rope, and a large fake diamond ring. The description on Costumeish’s website reads: “She has devoted her life to promoting American decadence, youth, and hedonism but all that flashy living caught up with her one night in Paris when armed men bound her, stole her jewelry and her peace of mind.” It also calls the costume a #Hallomeme.
The reviews on the company website are largely negative, calling them out for being tasteless and disgusting. The internet has responded similarly.
READ MORE: ‘Moana’ Halloween costume pulled by Disney after comparisons to blackface
Reached for comment by BuzzFeed, Johnathon Weeks, Costumeish vice-president, said: “I’m sad that people are offended by it, but it is Halloween: it’s one day out of the year. Halloween should be a lighthearted, spirited party and people should be able to laugh at it and think it’s funny.”
This costume could signify a yearly trend of focusing on Kardashian-related controversies. Last year, the LGBTQ community was up in arms over a Caitlyn Jenner costume made up of a satin bustier and short-shorts reminiscent of the outfit the transgender TV star wore on the cover of Vanity Fair.
While Jenner’s costume was described as a celebration of the star, Weeks was less than apologetic about his company’s hot-button outfit.
“If people find it tasteless or they are offended by it, it’s Halloween,” he said. “Maybe you should just shut your life out and not go outside.”
With files from ET Canada
Comments