The armed robbery of Kim Kardashian that occurred early Monday morning continues to draw the worst out of the internet. First, there was the French reaction to the events. Next, there was the NRA's sarcastic comments. Now, a Twitter user posing as Wendy Williams has joined the fun.
Yesterday, someone using the Twitter handle @WendyWllliams suggested that Rihanna's "violent" music videos are to blame for the robbery. The tweet reads, "HOT TOPIC: Kim Kardashian has been held at gunpoint today. Are @rihanna's violence-glamorizing videos to blame?" See the tweet in its trollish glory below.
The assumption is an odd attempt to use Kim K.'s robbery to take down Rihanna. As if Rihanna could ever be "taken down."
However, the tweet wasn't even from the real Wendy Williams. The handle uses an "L" in the place of the second "i" in Williams to resemble Williams's true Twitter handle. The verified account is @WendyWilliams. The fake account is @WendyWllliams. Can you spot the difference?
The fake account appears to be a Wendy Williams parody account. Most of its activity takes aim at celebrities like Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, and Lady Gaga. While this is in no way excusable Twitter activity, this is at least a little similar to Wendy Williams's real attitude. Williams specializes in celebrity disdain. She harbors particular scorn for Rihanna — in the past, she's called the singer a "holla back girl" and said she would never be "a legend like Beyoncé." Williams has also mocked Kesha and, most notoriously, once claimed that Caitlyn Jenner is not a woman.
While the tasteless tweet is undoubtedly fake, it's not that far from reality. Which begs the question, at what point does a parody Twitter account — or trolling in general — perpetuate ignorance? The account may be trying to reveal Williams's idiocy, but it's still using Kim Kardashian's robbery to promote an agenda. Not cool.
A representative for The Wendy Williams Show told Refinery29, "This account is fake and has no association and/or correlation with The Wendy Williams Show."