Kardashian West was robbed of jewelry worth an estimated $5.6 million in October.
January 18, 2017
Left, by George Pimentel/WireImage, from NCP/Star Mac/GC Images, both from Getty Images.
In a bizarre instance of art imitating life, Kim Kardashian West will appear, per Page Six, in Ocean’s Eight. In addition to starring Sandra Bullock, Anne Hathaway, Mindy Kaling, Rihanna, and Cate Blanchett, among many others, the movie chronicles a jewel heist during the fashion industry’s biggest night—the Met Gala. The reality star is just coming off a nearly three-month break from the public eye after being robbed at gunpoint in Paris during the city’s fashion week last October.
It’s unclear if she and her sisters Kendall and Kylie Jenner (who were also spotted on set) were tapped in order to lend credence to the Met Gala milieu or to take a larger part in the jewel-heist story line (Vanity Fair reached out to Kardashian West for comment). Casting her as a fixture on the carpet isn’t the perplexing part. The reality star has attended the last four galas at the Metropolitan Museum. Her Givenchy gown in the film even closely resembles the one she wore to the event nearly two years ago (the Ocean’s Eight version has the added flare of a fur shrug, worn first—best?—by her daughter, North West). The photos of the star at the museum, where the scenes were being filmed on Monday, felt like déjà vu. Kardashian West and co. will certainly offer gala scenes some heightened reality.
The fact that she’d agree to do a heist film after her own nightmarish jewel robbery, however, gives pause. It was a harrowing event by all accounts, not to mention that she has only just begun to resemble the Kardashian West we knew before, with makeup master classes in Dubai and careful social-media image control.
Maybe the idea of appearing in a light caper alongside Rihanna is just the salve she needs after several months of recovery. Maybe it’s catharsis. Maybe this is a way to take control of her narrative, a sort of exposure therapy. Maybe she doesn’t need to explain herself. She’s Kim Kardashian West. Yes, she’s available for a giant box-office film starring a handful of the greatest actresses of our time.
Franklin, shown performing in April 2017, is said to be seriously ill. (Photo: Taylor Hill/Getty Images)
Beyoncé has a bit of history with Franklin, who publicly admonished her in 2008 after the pop star referred to fellow singer Tina Turner as “the queen” during a Grammys tribute.
“I am not sure of whose toes I may have stepped on or whose ego I may have bruised between the Grammy writers and Beyoncé,” Franklin said in a statement at the time. “However, I dismissed it as a cheap shot for controversy.”
But there were no hard feelings by 2013, when Franklin defended Beyoncé for lip-syncing during her performance at President Barack Obama’s second inauguration. The music legend praised the “beautiful job” in an interview with ABC News.