Why An Ancient Sculpture Has Landed Kim Kardashian In Hot Water With The U.S. Government

Kim Kardashian is no stranger to scandal and controversy. She and her family make headlines on a regular basis, and over the years the media has had a field day with the family's highs and lows. Kim herself is often the center of tabloid gossip (via Us Weekly). In fact, a huge scandal helped to jumpstart her career. A sex tape that Kim made with former boyfriend Ray J leaked online and catapulted her to fame. Just a few months later, she and her family were starring in their very own reality TV series. "I'm not naïve to that fact that's pretty much how I was introduced to the world. It was a negative way, so I felt like I really had to work 10 times harder to get people to see the real me. I felt humiliated," Kim said during a 2012 interview. 

Kim's marriages have also been a source of interest to fans. The KKW Beauty founder has been married three times. Her first marriage to Damon Thomas lasted for four years. She filed for divorce from second husband Kris Humphries after only 72 days of marriage, and she's currently going through a divorce from husband No. 3, Kanye West (via Page Six). Kim has also made headlines for her famous feuds with other stars such as rapper Drake and beloved songbird Taylor Swift. Now, Kim is finding herself in hot water again — this time with the United States government.

Page Six reports that Kim Kardashian is being asked to turn over an ancient Roman sculpture that she allegedly purchased back in 2016. The statue is known as the Fragment of Myron's Samian Athena and dates back to the 1st or 2nd century. The outlet claims that the reality star purchased the piece from Axel Vervoordt Gallery in Belgium years ago. The statue was shipped to California in May of 2016 and stopped upon its arrival. Authorities were tipped off that the piece – protected as cultural property — may have been illegally smuggled out of Italy.

In 2018, Italy's Ministry of Cultural Heritage had the statue examined and confirmed that it had been "looted, smuggled, and illegally exported from Italy." The country then asked that the piece be returned to them. On Friday, the federal government asked Kardashian to relinquish the artwork. However, the reality star claims she knows nothing about the piece and says that she wasn't the one who bought the statue in 2016.

"Kim never purchased this piece and this is the first that she has learned of its existence. We believe it may have been purchased using her name without authorization and because it was never received, she was unaware of the transaction. We encourage an investigation and hope that it gets returned to the rightful owners," a rep for Kardashian said in a statement.