Kim Kardashian, the reality TV star and entrepreneur, took the stand in a Paris courtroom on May 13, 2025, to recount the harrowing 2016 robbery in which she was tied up at gunpoint and robbed of millions of dollars’ worth of jewellery during Paris Fashion Week.
Kardashian testified that the terrifying incident occurred around 3:00 a.m. on October 6, 2016, at the No Address Hotel in Paris.
She was alone in her suite, preparing to leave the next morning, when five masked men disguised as police officers stormed into her room.
The intruders restrained her with zip ties and duct tape, gagged her, and held a gun to her back.
During the ordeal, Kardashian was only wearing a bathrobe and feared she would be sexually assaulted or killed.
“I absolutely did think I was going to die,” Kardashian told the court, her voice breaking with emotion.
She described thinking about her sister Kourtney and the trauma her family would endure if she were harmed. “I thought about my sister, thought she would walk in and see me shot dead and have that memory in her forever,” she said.
The robbers demanded her jewellery, including a diamond engagement ring valued at approximately $4 million, given to her by then-husband Kanye West (now known as Ye).
Other stolen items included diamond Cartier bracelets, a Jacob necklace, Lorraine Schwartz earrings, and a gold Rolex.
The thieves fled on bicycles, leaving behind only a diamond and platinum cross pendant that was later recovered by local police.
Ten suspects, mostly men over the age of 60 and dubbed by French media as the “grandpa robbers” (“papys braqueurs”), stand trial facing charges of armed robbery, kidnapping, and gang affiliation. DNA evidence linked two of the accused to the crime scene. The trial began in April 2025 and is expected to conclude later this month.
Following the attack, Kardashian managed to free her hands and scream for help, alerting her friend Simone Harouche, who was staying nearby.
The two hid outside until police arrived. Kardashian remained in Paris until the morning after the robbery to provide a statement to authorities.
