Reality TV star and entrepreneur Kim Kardashian gave harrowing testimony in a Paris courtroom on Tuesday, recounting the terrifying 2016 armed robbery in which she was bound, threatened at gunpoint, and feared for her life.
“I absolutely thought I was going to die,” Kardashian said, her voice breaking as she described the moment masked intruders stormed her hotel room during Paris Fashion Week. Recalling the trauma, she said, “I thought about my sister—I thought she would walk in and find me shot dead, and that image would haunt her forever.”
Now 44, Kardashian broke down in tears as she detailed how the robbers, disguised as police officers, burst into her room around 3 a.m. while she was packing for her departure the next morning. The men tied her up with zip ties and duct tape and demanded her jewelry, including a $4 million engagement ring gifted by her then-husband, rapper Kanye West (now known as Ye).
Wearing a sleek black outfit by British designer John Galliano and adorned in jewelry, Kardashian remained composed but visibly emotional as she revisited the traumatic ordeal.
“I heard heavy footsteps coming up the stairs,” she said. “Then one of the men shouted ‘ring! ring!’ in English with an accent, pointing a gun at me.”
Kardashian recalled pleading with the hotel concierge, who was also being held by the assailants. “I was hysterical. I looked at him and said, ‘What’s going to happen to us? I need to make it home to my babies.’”
At one point, she feared she would be sexually assaulted. “He threw me on the bed and grabbed my leg. I thought he was going to rape me,” she said, “but instead, he tied me up and closed my legs.”
While Kardashian confirmed that the intruders never physically assaulted her, she emphasized that the psychological trauma was profound and enduring.
Despite the horror she endured, Kardashian told the court that she forgives the alleged mastermind of the heist. “That doesn’t take away the fear, the trauma, the impact,” she said, adding that she continues to live with the emotional scars of that night.
The trial continues as the accused face charges related to the violent robbery, which shocked the world and marked a turning point in Kardashian’s public life and personal security practices.
