BBC Issues Tone-Deaf Tweet About Kim Kardashian’s Encounter With “Prankster”

Kim Kardashian West was assaulted on the street in Paris yesterday by Vitalii Sediuk. The serial celebrity stalker grabbed Kardashian's leg and tried to kiss her butt. Thankfully, the reality star's security was able to step in. She has now officially filed a complaint. If you're asking yourself whether this is the same jerk who went after Gigi Hadid in Milan, the answer is yes. Sediuk calls these attacks "pranks." That, on its own, is ludicrous. This shouldn't happen to anyone walking down the street, famous or not. Which makes this tweet from BBC Newsbeat a nasty mix of "Oh, hell no" and "What the hell?"

BBC Newsbeat covered the story and rightly questioned Sediuk's actions, but when it came time to promote the story on Twitter, things went awry. "Is it OK to grab a woman on the street, even if it is a 'prank'?" the message reads. What? How is that even a question? Again, the answer is no. The answer to that question will always be no. Users quickly took to Twitter to clear this up for the BBC, calling out the organization for missing the point.

Others took aim at the inherent ridiculousness in the use of the work "prank."

Hadid went on the attack after her encounter with Sediuk, not just elbowing him in the face, but later calling out sexist coverage of the incident. Clearly, her point is valid.