A woman has credited Kim Kardashian’s shapewear line Skims for saving her life during a shooting.
The 42-year-old Skims founder took to her Instagram Story on Friday 14 July to share a TikTok from Angelina Wiley, a 22-year-old Kansas City resident who survived a mass shooting in Kansas City, Missouri, earlier this year.
The TikTok, which was posted on 18 May, went viral this week with more than 1.4m views as fellow TikTokers tagged Kardashian in the hopes that she would see the video.
“Kim Kardashian saved my life,” Wiley began the clip. She explained that she was shot “four times” during an incident that occurred on New Year’s Day, according to CBS affiliate KCTV5. “The night that I got shot, under my dress I was wearing a Skims shaping bodysuit,” she said. “It was so tight on me that it literally kept me from bleeding out.”
“I recommend it,” Wiley jokingly added. “I’m definitely going to buy some more, I mean I should wear it everyday. It’s like body armour for women.”
As she threw her hand up in the air, she said: “Call it fate, or Jesus, but I’mma call it Kim.”
In the comments, many people applauded Wiley for telling her story and praised Kardashian’s shapewear line for allegedly saving her life.
“If this doesn’t land you a @Skims sponsorship I don’t know what will,” one user wrote.
“Now THIS is good advertising,” another said. “Now I’m gonna go buy some Skims.”
In her Instagram Story, the Keeping Up with the Kardashians star wrote underneath the re-posted video: “Wowwww”
Wiley revealed in a follow-up video that she was wearing the Skims Sculpt Thong Bodysuit ($68) when she was shot four times. In addition to the gunshot wounds, the incident also left her with a ruptured bladder, a cracked pelvis, and a bullet still lodged in her abdomen.
The 22-year-old revealed in a series of videos posted last March that she was waiting for a Lyft around 1.30am when she decided to grab a bite from a nearby food truck. As she crossed the street with her friend, Wiley heard “people fighting” before a man “in a ski mask” began shooting.
She has since started a GoFundMe page to raise money towards her medical bills. In an update shared on 8 July, after her video went viral, Wiley said she is in physical therapy but she continues to struggle with her hip and “severe PTSD” ever since the shooting.
The Independent has contacted Angelina Wiley for comment.
Kim Kardashian founded the shapewear brand Skims in September 2019. Since then, it has become one of the fastest-growing companies and launched Kardashian into billionaire status. This month, Skims was reportedly valued at close to $4bn, according to Women’s Wear Daily.
