Kim Kardashian spoke out on racism and discrimination on her personal blog back in May.
In an entry titled “On My Mind,” the television and social media star said motherhood has changed her perspective on the subject:
“To be honest, before I had North, I never really gave racism or discrimination a lot of thought. It is obviously a topic that Kanye is passionate about, but I guess it was easier for me to believe that it was someone else’s battle,” she wrote.
North is Kardashian’s daughter with husband Kanye West.
“But recently, I’ve read and personally experienced some incidents that have sickened me and made me take notice. I realize that racism and discrimination are still alive, and just as hateful and deadly as they ever have been.”
On Sunday night Keeping Up with the Kardashians viewers got the story behind Kim’s words.
Apparently Kardashian traveled to Austria back in February with baby North and her mother Kris Jenner in order to attend the Vienna Opera Ball. Upon arriving at the venue they were shocked to see “[s]ome random man … dressed up in blackface and … impersonating Kanye!”
The man was Chris Stephan, an Austrian stand-up comedian, and he was yelling: “Kim, it’s me! It’s me! Kanye!”
“I just am so confused. I don’t get why him or anyone else would find this funny. This is supposed to be some really nice, upscale event,” Kardashian said. “Like, how did this guy get in? Is this just like a sick joke?”
Jenner added: “To have somebody so ignorant come to such a beautiful event and spoil it for everyone is just taking a huge step backwards.”
Despite the fact that the incident made the two uncomfortable, they stuck around to do an interview with a German television host.
That’s when they overheard a man use the n-word. While Kardashian and Jenner acknowledged that he was probably “trying to be funny” by making a reference to one of West’s songs, they found it “extremely offensive.”
Kardashian’s experience with racism didn’t stop at the opera house. She claimed that on the flight home, a woman started screaming racist remarks at her and North.
“It got so bad that the pilot had to come out and talk to the woman!”
Stephan later posted an apology on his Facebook page, saying that he never intended to be racist and pointing out that he is of Arab descent himself.
Eighty-one-year-old Austrian businessman Richard Lugner paid Kardashian $500,000 to attend the Vienna Opera Ball as his guest and sources say he also hired Stephan to appear at the event.
Image via Instagram, Kim Kardashian