Kim Kardashian gave an emotional testimony in a Paris courtroom this week as she recounted the harrowing night in 2016 when she was robbed at gunpoint in her hotel room during Paris Fashion Week.
Speaking through tears, the reality star described how she feared for her life as two men dressed as police officers burst into her luxury apartment in the early hours of the morning.
At the time, Kardashian had just returned from dinner, packed up her belongings, and was preparing to sleep before an early flight back to New York.
“I was just about to fall asleep. I was naked with a robe on,” she told the court.
Hearing footsteps upstairs, she initially thought it was her sister Kourtney returning from a night out. Instead, two armed men entered her room with the building’s concierge, whom they had taken hostage.
One of the men, pointing at his fingers, repeatedly shouted “ring, ring,” demanding her jewelry. Kardashian, terrified and confused, feared it was a terrorist attack given the wave of global incidents at the time.
She quickly realized the men were after her valuables.
“They found my ring, but they wanted more,” she recalled.
The men dragged her to another room, one holding her at gunpoint while the other zip-tied her hands and taped her mouth.
She begged the concierge to translate a plea to spare her life for the sake of her young children.
“At that moment, I was sure they were going to rape me,” Kardashian admitted, her voice breaking. “I said a prayer and hoped my family would be OK.”
After tying her ankles and leaving her on the bathroom floor, the men fled with nearly $10 million worth of jewelry, including Kardashian’s 18.88-carat diamond engagement ring from then-husband Kanye West, valued at $4 million.
Kardashian eventually managed to loosen her restraints and made her way to her stylist and best friend, Simone Harouche, who had been hiding downstairs.
Now, nearly nine years later, ten suspects — nine men and one woman aged between 35 and 78 — are standing trial in what’s considered France’s biggest personal robbery case in two decades.
Eight of them deny involvement. The suspects have been nicknamed the “grandpa gang” due to their advanced ages.
In a surprising moment during the hearing, the judge read a letter from one of the accused, Aomar Aït Khedache, known as “Old Omar,” expressing regret for the trauma he caused. Kardashian, visibly moved, wiped tears as she listened.
“I believe in second chances. I’ve worked with people who’ve committed terrible crimes and tried to find empathy,” she said. “I appreciate the letter, and I forgive you. But it doesn’t erase the trauma or the way my life has been changed forever.”
Her stylist Harouche also testified, remembering how she feared she would never see her own children again that night.
She praised Kardashian’s bravery, sharing that while she hid in fear, Kim had the presence of mind to come find and comfort her once the men had left.
Kardashian admitted the experience completely transformed her sense of security. Before the robbery, she often traveled without a bodyguard. Since then, she’s maintained a full security team both at home and while traveling.
“This changed everything,” she told the court.
