Kim Kardashian robbery is no joke say social media users

Kardashian West has not posted about the incident on any of her accounts yet but her admirers have been quick to offer their sympathies

Being held at gunpoint is clearly not funny, but the internet had to be reminded that reality TV star Kim Kardashian West was a victim after news of the attack was met by online abuse and cruel jokes.

Many of Kardashian West's millions of fans on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook posted messages of sympathy after learning she was robbed by two men dressed as police officers in Paris.

Among messages of support were jokes about the attack, questions over whether the story should be reported by news organisations, and claims that the incident was a publicity stunt.

The barrage of abuse led to other celebrities and fans defending her with TV host James Corden among those saying: "She's a mother, a daughter, a wife, a friend. Be nice or shut up."

Singer Leona Lewis tweeted: "Years later I'm still personally dealing with trauma after being attacked. We should be sending love to @KimKardashian it's an awful ordeal."

Disbelieving and dismissive

On Twitter, some people referred to Ryan Lochte, the US Olympic swimmer who falsely said he had been robbed at gunpoint while in Brazil during the Olympics Games.

Many lampooned Kardashian West's penchant for self-publicity.

There was also mentions of public spats she has had with other celebrities such as Taylor Swift, posting images of her with a gun. Also, people implied Kardashian West was trying to take attention away from her brother's baby shower that took place on the same day.

"You'd make a meme of our dead bodies"

US model Chrissy Teigen weighed in on the vitriol celebrities sometimes face online.

Presenter Piers Morgan also expressed his sympathy for Kardashian West. But when he was accused of hypocrisy, given his previous mockery of her, he argued it was possible to feel both.

"Mocking violence against women"

Among the most popular tweets was one by this user urging people to see Kardashian West as a human being.

Some were outraged that anyone could find the incident funny just because of who she is.

Others thought such reactions were the symptoms of something more worrying about society.

News stories

There were comments online on whether or not the story was getting too much news coverage because of the fame of the victim, and many compared it to other news stories and issues.

By Tse Yin Lee BBC's UGC and Social News team