A tearful Kim Kardashian told a Paris court how she feared she would die as a gang of “grandpa robbers” broke into her Paris hotel room and “held a gun to my back”.
Kardashian, 44, was bound up with zip ties and held at gunpoint in a luxury hotel suite as the gang allegedly stole US$9 million ($15 million) of her jewellery during Paris Fashion Week in October 2016.
Giving an emotional testimony in court, Kardashian revealed she pleaded with the gang “that I have babies, I have to make it home”.
The media star also revealed that she was “certain” she would be raped and shot.
“So I said a prayer for my family and my mum and my sister and best friend,” she told the court.
Kardashian arrived at the Court of Appeal of Paris dressed in a black blazer, dress and sunglasses, accompanied by her mother, Kris Jenner.
The pair stepped out of a black Mercedes van, which was surrounded by French police officers and private security.
Kardashian gave a wave to fans before walking up the steps into the courtroom.
Recalling her visit to Paris in 2016, Kardashian said she would regularly “stop in little hotels for hot chocolate… it was magical”.
“But when I came for Fashion Week during that trip, it changed everything,” she said, before stopping for a moment and wiping away tears.
Kardashian told the court that she was on the verge of sleep when a group of men entered her hotel room, allegedly bringing the hotel’s night receptionist, Abderrahmane Ouatiki, with them.
“I obviously was very confused when they first walked in – I had to make sense of what was happening... I was just about to fall asleep,” she told the court, adding that she had “also fallen asleep naked with just a robe on, so I was just flustered”.
Kardashian said she went to call her bodyguard before the gang “picked me up off my bed and grabbed me and took me down the hallway to look for more jewellery” with a gun to her back.
At this point, Kardashian said she was thrown back on to the bed, where her hands were bound with zip ties.
She revealed that she was naked underneath her robe, which opened and “exposed everything on my body”.
“I’m certain that’s the moment he rapes me. I say a prayer to mentally prepare myself,” she said, adding: “At that point I was sure that’s when they were going to shoot me.”
Asked if she thought she was going to die, Kardashian responded: “I absolutely did think I was gonna die.”
Kardashian previously said she developed anxiety after the ordeal, leaving her unable to leave the house.
“I hated to go out,” she said in 2021. “I didn’t want anybody to know where I was – I just had such anxiety.”
A source close to the media personality said she was “nervous” to testify but that it was her choice to do so.
“Kim’s a bit nervous, but she always said that she wanted to testify in person,” an insider close to the media personality told People. “This is her choice.
“She was terrified for her life during the robbery. She wants the people involved convicted.”
Twelve suspects were initially charged, though one died, while another was excused from proceedings because of illness.
The remaining men on trial are in their 60s and 70s, earning the title “grandpa robbers” by the French media.
Two defendants, Yunice Abbas and Aomar Ait Khedache, admit the charges. The rest deny them.
Court officials warned on Tuesday that large crowds would probably gather around the courtroom in Paris.
This is Kardashian’s first appearance at the trial, which started two weeks ago. It was expected to last about a month.
It will comprise a presiding judge, two professional assessors, and six main jurors. The hearing involves more than 2000 documents and there are four civil parties. Five of the accused face armed robbery and kidnapping charges. The others are charged with complicity in the heist or the unauthorised possession of a weapon.