Kim Kardashian has a lot of feelings about the Beverly Hills Hotel. She has loved the hotel for years, and initially planned to hold her bridal shower at the famed California venue earlier this year.
She shifted her perspective right before the swanky affair, however, when she learned about the homophobic policies of the Sultan of Brunei Hassanal Bolkiah, who owns the hotel. The Sultan implemented a Sharia law this spring, which allows for harsh punishments such as death by stoning and dismemberment for the "crime" of homosexual acts.
Because of his actions and his ownership of the Beverly Hills Hotel, Kardashian, 33, relocated her May 10 bridal shower to Beverly Hills' Peninsula Hotel, where she fêted her wedding to Kanye West.
She proceeded to engage with scores of other celebrities in a boycott of the Beverly Hills Hotel, but has since changed her mind about that, as well.
The reality star took to her personal blog on Monday, June 23, to share her latest views on the situation in a post titled, "My Thoughts."
"My best friend Allison and I wanted to take our babies out to lunch a few days ago after our baby class but there were so many paparazzi swarming us, it would have really scared them," Kardashian wrote. "We were planning on taking them to the Beverly Hills Hotel, which is where we always go because they respect not having any paparazzi drive onto their property, but I reminded Allison that my bridal shower was moved from that hotel due to the actions of the Sultan of Brunei… we 100% agree that the actions and law enforcements of the Sultan are completely against everything we believe in."
"However, I started to realize that maybe boycotting the hotel isn’t the best solution either," she continued. "For a sultan that has 20 billion dollars, this loss of business doesn’t even make a dent in his fortunes. But the hotel staff are being negatively affected every day with the boycott that has gone on for weeks now… We shouldn’t punish the amazing hard-working people who have been so good to us for years! When I was a little girl, I would ride my bike to the Beverly Hills Hotel on the weekends to eat downstairs in the coffee shop with my dad, and some of the same people still work there! It’s sad to see them suffering from this protest."
"There must be other ways to express our views without punishing the workers, some who I know personally have families at home and depend on the city’s business and tips to survive," Kardashian went on. "When I was pregnant, the hotel was my safe haven. There’s one waitress that works downstairs who was also pregnant at the same time as me and due just a few weeks apart. We would always share our pregnancy stories with each other. I know for a fact she has a new baby at home that she has to feed, so this boycott is affecting her tremendously. The hotel is a piece of LA’s history as well as many of our own personal memories… The unjust treatment and violation of rights of the LGBT community around the world is never justified and I will continue to proudly support the LGBT community in every way imaginable. I do believe though that instead of this boycott, there has to be another solution… Boycotting the hotel won’t affect the sultan, just our dear friends who work there. For every warm smile when they greet us and for all the dedication they put in to make our experiences more enjoyable, I hope we can return the same love and compassion to make sure they’re not forgotten during this protest."
The hotel has yet to comment on Kardashian's latest change of heart.
