When supermodel Gigi Hadid was manhandled outside the Max Mara show in Milan last week, the internet responded in outrage. Initially, her attacker was thought to be a total stranger. But after further investigation it emerged that it was Vitalii Sediuk, a Ukrainian man with a long history pertaining to the public harassment of female celebrities.
And now, he’s making news again – for all the wrong reasons. Video footage has emerged showing Sediuk launching himself at Kim Kardashian as she leaves the Balmain headquarters in Paris. Thankfully, Kim’s security swiftly handled the situation, tackling him to the ground within seconds. But in circumstances mirroring the Gigi incident, Sediuk was able to get up and run away, making a relatively clean escape considering the totally indecent act he was attempting to commit.
These repeated instances are raising eyebrows and questions. Firstly, with a track record of public harassments that dates back to 2012, how is this man – who is reportedly a media personality – able to continue attending public events? Furthermore, the fact that Sediuk is being labelled a “serial pest” by a slew of media outlets kind of underscores the fact that, in the past two weeks, he’s sexually harassed two women.
We applauded Gigi for fighting him off fearlessly (and highly commend Kimmy K’s security guards for doing the same), but it’s baffling that beyond internet attention, little has been done to ensure that the safety of women like Kim and Gigi is better protected in instances like these. As Gigi outlined in an open letter, she “felt she was in danger,” and responded in a totally normal manner given the circumstance. Gigi and Kim might be superstars with hefty security entourages capable of pummeling any intruder, but when it comes to the safety of women, acts like these deserve more than the internet’s disapproval. They warrant real consequences and a greater understanding of how wrong this kind of behavior is.
Kim Kardashian has since filed a complaint with French authorities over the attack, so hopefully it will be the last time Vitalii Sediuk is able to make a woman feel unsafe for the sake of a cheap laugh.