Almost a decade after she was bound and held at gunpoint in a hotel room in Paris, Kim Kardashian has forgiven the man who allegedly orchestrated the infamous jewellery heist.
On Tuesday (local time), the mega-star appeared before the highest court at the Palais de Justice in France to give evidence against 10 men who have been accused of kidnapping and robbing her on October 3, 2016, during Paris Fashion Week. Many of whom are elderly and have been dubbed “the grandpa robbers”.
Taking the stand, Kardashian testified that she feared for her life during the traumatic event.
“He grabs my legs and pulls me. I’m naked, and my everything is exposed. I was sure that I was going to be raped,” she told the court, explaining that she was worried her sister Kourney Kardashian would find her “dead on the bed, shot dead, and that she should have this memory forever”.
“I absolutely thought I was going to die,” she said, per The Independant. “I was sure they were going to shoot me”.
Kardashian explained that the experience of the robbery has had a lasting traumatic impact on her and changed the way she navigates the world and social media.
“Emotionally, I don’t post in real time,” she said.
“I make sure I take photos and video and post when I leave, so people don’t know where I am. It has changed my business because I don’t post in real-time.”
The court heard from a 68-year-old seasoned criminal named Aomar Aït Khedache, who had admitted involvement in the robbery but denied he was the ringleader. While Aït Khedache can no longer speak due to medical issues, the court read out a letter in which he said he “regrets” his involvement and was “moved and touched” by Kardashian’s emotional recount of the night.
In response, Kardashian said she forgave him for his involvement.
“This experience changed my life, my family’s life. I work in the justice system. I have always believed in second chances,” she said.
“I’ve met people who have committed horrific crimes. I try to have sympathy with them. But I also fight for victims. I appreciate the letter. I do forgive you. But it does not change the emotion and the trauma, and how my life has changed. Thank you.”
In what can only be described as a power move, Kardashian wore more than $10 million USD ($15.4 million AUD) worth of jewellery, including a $3 million ($4.6 million) glittering diamond necklace while she testified against the men who stole her jewels.
Iconic move, really.
Spectacle aside, the case brings the end of an on-going saga for Kardashian.
“This is my closure,” she says.
“This is me putting this, hopefully, to rest.”
