Maybe they just didn’t realize?! Julie Frates, wife of Pete Frates, one of the founders of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, had an unfortunate experience when she ran into Kim Kardashian and her mom, Kris Jenner, in Cannes on Wednesday, June 24.
After her husband’s co-founder’s wife Jenn Quinn took to Facebook noting they were left in “shock by the lack of caring and engagement” from the stars, Frates tells Us Weekly exclusively they simply wanted to introduce themselves and thank Kardashian for her involvement.
“I understand that they get bombarded by paparazzi and fans, it’s not a pleasant scenario,” Frates told Us of attempting to converse with Jenner, 59, and Kardashian, 34, at the Celine store. “That being said, we were in a very calm environment. I’m a young woman and I approached Kris and told her I just wanted to introduce myself….Maybe they’re so used to people coming on to them too strong and that’s why she immediately shut us down. We were probably a little misunderstood, but it is what it is.”
Frates went on to explain that as fans of the social media maven, Kardashian’s involvement with the challenge “was a huge deal for us.”
“We were like, ‘This is so amazing, we finally get to tell them how appreciative we are for them doing the Challenge,’” Frates explained. “And it didn’t go down how I thought it would go down! I didn’t want to just get my picture taken with them. The whole point of saying ‘Hi’ was to thank them. It’s unfortunate that it happened the way it did, but I don’t want to bash them at all.”
Frates, whose husband suffers from ALS, added that the Ice Bucket Challenge is returning this summer and that she simply wanted to ask Kanye West’s wife to get involved again. “I get that they get harassed and she didn’t know what the situation was, but it’s unfortunate they didn’t want to take a picture. That being said, we are just fans who wanted to thank them…I do hope the Kardashian family will still do it!”
Despite reports that Kardashian was bombarded while trying on clothes in a dressing room, Frates tells Us that “Kim was trying on a fox fur coat in the middle of the Celine store.”
Frates and Quinn are in Cannes to spread awareness about the Ice Bucket Challenge, which has already won eight Gold Cannes Lion awards and will return every August until a cure for ALS is found. For more information, use the hashtag #EveryAugustUntilACure.
