Aida Nizar, the Bulgarian pickpocket and the business of playing the victim

Aida Nizar, the Bulgarian pickpocket and the business of playing the victim

A street robbery is usually a bad deal. Unless the victim is a well-known face on Spanish television and the police take ten minutes to show up. That is what peine to Aida Nizar, a regular contributor to Telecinco, when a woman of Bulgarian origin tried to get her hand into her bag in broad daylight, according to the version circulating over the past few hours.

The police response under scrutiny

The incident had an epilogue at the police station. The officers turned up ten minutes after the call, and still found time to reproach the victim for calling the alleged thief a incivil. If the account is accurate, citizens not only have to fend for themselves on the street, but also get a telling-off for naming what everyone saw.

From the incident to the TV studio

The most unsettling part is not the possible staged scene —some observers do not rule out that it was arranged— but the predictable monetization of the episode. In the Spanish media circuit, a robbery with a famous name attached means a tour of TV studios, panel shows and interviews; the most repeated estimate speaks of twelve appearances and half a year of guaranteed income. The victim becomes a product, and the crime, content.

Meanwhile, the public debate is sliding towards the victim's physical appearance and other niceties that say more about the state of the online conversation than about the robbery itself.

One uncomfortable question remains: how much is a scare on the street worth today if you have a social media account and a good agent?