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The Independent
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Power, celebrity and being believed: The week that A-listers took the stand and fame was on trial
Inside the Palais de Justice, which houses France 's highest court, anticipation had been building for hours by the time Kim Kardashian arrived on Tuesday afternoon. More than 400 journalists from all over the world had gathered to watch the star take the witness stand; by the time the sun began to rise over Paris, dozens of us were already queueing at the doors of the historic building to secure a coveted spot on the press bench. It was a moment that had been almost 10 years in the making: in 2016, Kardashian was staying just 30 minutes from the court when men claiming to be police officers burst into her room and stole almost $10m (£7.5m) worth of jewellery. Ten men, dubbed the 'grandpa robbers' by French media, stand accused of taking part in the robbery, though all but two deny any involvement. The ordeal, Kardashian told the Cour d'Appel on Tuesday, was terrifying: 'I absolutely thought I was going to die,' she said, tearfully recounting the events of that night. 'I was sure that I was going to be raped.' At the time of the attack, the public response was chilling. Kardashian – who had been posting regular updates on social media since her arrival in Paris – was cast not as a victim, but as a villain in her own ordeal. Many accused her of lying about what had happened, speculating that she had orchestrated an elaborate stunt to gain cheap hits for her long-running reality TV show Keeping Up with the Kardashians. Others proclaimed that anyone as willing as Kardashian – the queen of reality TV – to put their life up for public consumption should expect as much as they got; the way she presented herself was considered too obvious, too shallow, for sympathy. The overarching narrative was that if she hadn't flaunted her wealth so garishly, she wouldn't have been gagged, bound, and threatened at gunpoint; she wouldn't have been forced to 'say a prayer' to prepare herself to be raped as a man grabbed her legs and pulled her naked body, covered only by a thin robe, towards him on a bed. 'Just because a woman wears jewellery, it doesn't make her a target. That's like saying just because a woman wears a short skirt that she deserves to be raped,' her friend and stylist Simone Harouche, who was with her on the night in question, indignantly told the court a few hours before Kardashian's appearance. It seems that even being at the apex of fame can't protect a woman from the notion that she might be 'asking for it'. On the same day that Kardashian gave evidence, in another Paris courtroom, Gerard Depardieu did not even bother to appear as the verdict was read at the end of his two-week trial – instead, as his victims anxiously waited to see if they would be granted justice for his assaults on them, Depardieu was filming in the Azores. In absentia, the actor was found guilty of sexually assaulting two women on a film set, and was handed an 18-month suspended sentence. He was also fined a total of €29,040 (£24,400), while the judge ordered that he be added to the national sex offender database in France. The court heard that in one of the attacks, carried out on a set dresser during filming, the actor grabbed the woman's hips and began 'palpating' her behind, and 'in front, around', before grabbing her chest. The woman testified that Depardieu also 'used an obscene expression' to suggest that he wanted to rape her and wanted her to touch his penis. And yet. Depardieu has confidently, casually dismissed what the judge in his case deemed 'consistent, credible accounts of being groped by the actor' backed up by solid witness testimony supporting the women's claims. In court, Depardieu's lawyer accused the women of lying, while the actor has previously repeatedly rejected formal complaints of misconduct from more than 20 women. In turn, the headlines lauded him as a legend, and he was described by French film icon Fanny Ardant as the 'monster and the saint'; as no more than a victim of his own genius. 'Genius, in whatever form it takes, carries with it an element of the extravagant, the untamed, the dangerous,' Ardant said, defending him. Brigitte Bardot, meanwhile, expressed contempt for the way in which 'talented people who touch the buttocks of a girl are consigned to the deepest dungeon'. 'Feminism isn't my thing,' the 90-year-old added. 'Personally, I like men.' And there was more, only this time, more than 3,000 miles across the Atlantic in New York, where in the same 24 hours Cassandra 'Cassie' Ventura took the stand for the first full day of testimony in the trial of Sean Combs, also known as Diddy, P Diddy or Puff Daddy. Combs has pleaded not guilty to five counts of racketeering conspiracy, sex trafficking, and transportation to engage in prostitution. Ventura, an ex-girlfriend of Combs who is currently eight months pregnant, told the jury this week that the rapper had physically and emotionally abused her for years, exerting control over virtually every aspect of her life. Combs, she claims, constantly subjected her to so-called 'freak-offs' or 'FOs' – drug-fuelled marathons of sex with sex workers, orchestrated and directed by him, that lasted for days. In their cross-examination, Combs's lawyers challenged Ventura on her account, putting to her that the sexual encounters were consensual, and questioning her on the 'loving' side of the couple's relationship. The prosecution played video evidence of Combs running down a hotel hallway in 2016 and then appearing to beat Ventura outside a lift. But fans gathering outside the court, according to BBC reports, 'hope he is not convicted'. 'I am not saying he is totally innocent, but I feel the charges against him are exaggerated,' 42-year-old Rhaze Lanore told reporter Pratiksha Ghildial. On social media, others have suggested that Ventura's husband will leave her when the trial ends, and that she 'enjoyed' the abuse. Heartbreaking, but unsurprising, are the comments from both men and women that hold Ventura responsible for what she claims to have been through, simply because she didn't leave the relationship. In just 24 hours this week, dispatches from court painted a uniquely grim picture. The three trials – disparate in context, yet deeply connected by theme – have laid bare the uncomfortable scaffolding of modern celebrity culture, and the underlying narrative concerning the intersection of male power, wealth and fame. Kardashian's testimony might once have been dismissed as celebrity theatre – and watching the paparazzi gather for her appearance on Tuesday, it was apparent beyond doubt that the horrific nature of her ordeal wasn't dampening the show-trial spirit. However, her decision to take the stand in person, face her attackers in the flesh – even forgive one of them – was a powerful move and showed that she shouldn't be underestimated. This time, Kardashian – cannily wearing a $1.5m diamond necklace to do so – took back control by juxtaposing her public persona with the vulnerability of her private experience. Wealth and glamour don't invalidate fear, she said, laying bare a truth that so many women understand. Danger doesn't discriminate, and, if you are a woman, no amount of power can protect you from other people's contempt. Depardieu's attitude shows that, for men, the opposite is true. While his conviction was rightly celebrated as a dismantling of the belief that power must be preserved even at the expense of justice – and that genius somehow excuses harm – attitudes around the case show all too well that, despite the tidal changes of #MeToo and the cultural shift that Giselle Pelicot forced singlehandedly with her powerful testimony late last year, there's still a long way to go. And as Combs's trial continues – concerning not only alleged sexual abuse, but coercion and the silencing of women behind industry walls built on misogyny and money – another reckoning hangs in the hands of the jury. Whatever verdicts are delivered in the coming weeks, what's certain is that there are no tidy endings to stories like these: there are only battles – for women, A-listers or otherwise, fighting to be heard – that will go on long after court has been dismissed. In the meantime, years on from Weinstein and #MeToo, we're still far from achieving a justice system that truly works for women. Survivors still face the exhausting burden of proving that their pain is real enough to matter – the difference is that women are no longer waiting to be granted the credibility to speak out. Some of them do it dripping in diamonds.
Daily Mail
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Kim Kardashian puts on a leggy display in brown midi dress as she goes for dinner in Paris hours after emotional court appearance over $10m jewellery heist
Kim Kardashian looked incredible as she dined at Le Voltiare restaurant in Paris just hours after her court appearance on Tuesday. The reality star, 44, stunningly forgave the man suspected of masterminding the $10 million Paris jewellery heist which left her fearing for her life after she was bound, gagged and threatened with a gun. The socialite accepted a written apology from Aomar Aït Khedache who said he was sorry for the pain he had caused her and her loved ones. The highly-charged moment in the Palais de Justice came as Kim returned to the French capital to give evidence in a trial of alleged 'grandpa gang' of robbers who targeted her at her luxury hotel suite during Paris Fashion Week in 2016. But just hours after leaving court, Kim was letting her hair down as she went out for a meal accompanied by her mother Kris Jenner. The SKIMS founder put on a leggy display for the evening as she slipped into a dark brown mini dress with a sheer detail. Kim Kardashian looked incredible as she dined at Le Voltiare restaurant in Paris just hours after her court appearance on Tuesday Just hours after leaving court, Kim was letting her hair down as she went out for a meal accompanied by her mother Kris Jenner The SKIMS founder put on a leggy display for the evening as she slipped into a dark brown mini dress with a sheer detail The garment highlighted the star's jaw-dropping figure while she added height to her frame in a pair of matching heels. Kim wrapped up for the evening in a leather coat with a faux fur lining as she headed back to her hotel after the meal. Her mother Kris opted for a black jacket with a pearl embellishment which she wore with a matching skirt and dark grey boots. Kim was a woman in demand as she was seen signing autographs for fans who waited for her outside. The outing came after the star's emotional court room appearance where she said she feared she would be raped and killed when two men she thought were police officers burst into her apartment to steal her expensive jewellery. Lawyers thoroughly grilled Kim over the terrifying 2016 robbery, and the social media star beared her heart to the court. Arguably the biggest moment of today's hearing was when Kim said she had forgiven the ringleader for putting her through the ordeal. She told the court: 'This experience changed my life, my family's life. I work in the justice system. I have always believed in second chances. The garment highlighted the star's jaw-dropping figure while she added height to her frame in a pair of matching heels Kim put on an animated display as she appeared to share a joke with her mother Kim wrapped up for the evening in a leather coat with a faux fur lining as she headed back to her hotel after the meal '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.' She also revealed that she believed she was going to die in Paris the night of the robbery. Asked by Judge David De Pas if she believed her life was going to end, she replied: 'I absolutely did think I was going to die.' The socialite also revealed that she and her security team had immediately made changes to her safety arrangements following the robbery. Asked about her changes to her lifestyle, Kim said it was 'completely different' compared to nine years ago. She said her security team now drive her because she doesn't know whether she can trust chauffeurs and added guards sleep outside rooms in hotels which they always try to rent all the rooms available. Kim was a woman in demand as she was seen signing autographs for fans who waited for her outside Her mother Kris opted for a black jacket with a pearl embellishment which she wore with a matching skirt and dark grey boots Kim stunningly forgave the man suspected of masterminding the $10 million Paris jewellery heist which left her fearing for her life after she was bound, gagged and threatened with a gun or her court appearance, Kim wore a $3 million necklace by Samer Halimeh New York, crafted in 18K white gold and featuring 80 diamonds, culminating in a 10.13-carat stone She also said she no longer allows jewellery inside her home for 'peace of mind'. In the aftermath, Kardashian was said to have vowed to stop showing off her jewels on social media. For her court appearance, the reality star wore a $3 million necklace by Samer Halimeh New York, crafted in 18K white gold and featuring 80 diamonds, culminating in a 10.13-carat pear-shaped center stone. She added a Sloan Pave diamond ear cuff worth $8,300 and a second Serti Sur Vide Earcuff by Repossi made up of 12 pear shaped diamonds for 4.55 carats.
Sky News
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Sky News
Kim Kardashian tells court she feared she was going to be raped and killed during Paris robbery
Kim Kardashian told a court she was certain she was going to be raped during a robbery in Paris nearly a decade ago, when one of the robbers pulled her across the bed exposing her naked body under her hotel robe as he tied her up. Speaking about one of the two men dressed as police who entered her room, the 44-year-old told the judge: "I was certain he was going to rape me." "I absolutely did think I was going to die," she added. "I said a prayer for my family, and for my sister who would walk in [and find me] and that they would have an OK life after what they saw." Kardashian has arrived at court to face the group accused of robbing her at gunpoint nearly a decade ago. Wearing a black skirt suit, sunglasses, and with her hair pulled back into a chignon, the US reality star walked up the steps accompanied by her mother Kris and a large entourage. The US reality star greeted the judge with a soft "Hello," thanking the French authorities for "allowing me to tell my truth". She began by telling the court of her love for Paris, calling it a "magical place," before becoming tearful when describing the robbery, and talking of her "confusion" when two men entered her room dressed as police officers, accompanied by the handcuffed concierge. "I had fallen asleep naked with a robe on, I was flustered," she told the court. Kardashian will face 10 defendants who it is alleged pulled off one of the most audacious celebrity heists in modern French history in the early hours of 3 October 2016. Ahead of her in-person appearance, Kardashian's lawyers said she was ready to "confront" the defendants and intended to do so "with dignity and courage". It's alleged that five masked men posing as police officers stormed the residence, with two entering Kardashian's room and robbing her at gunpoint. Police say the men escaped on bicycles, with around $9m of jewellery, including a $4m engagement ring from Kardashian's then-husband Kanye West. Most of the jewellery was never recovered. Earlier on Tuesday, in Paris's central criminal court, Kardashian's stylist Simone Harouche described the moment she was woken by the US star's screams of terror and feared she had been "raped or violated". Ms Harouche, 45, who says she has worked for Kardashian for many years and has been friends with her since she was 12, told the court she was woken by "a sound I had never heard from Kim… It was terror". Sleeping in a separate apartment, on the next floor down from Kardashian's, she went on: "What I heard specifically was [Kim saying], 'I have babies and I need to live - that is what she kept saying… Take everything. I need to live'". She told the judge: "When I realised something terrible was going on upstairs and I realised it was not friends [in Kim's room], I started looking for my telephone and I started looking for something to help save mine and Kim's life." She went on to lock herself in her bathroom and hide in her shower, where she called Kardashian's sister Kourtney and texted her security guard, Pascal Duvier, telling them, "Something is very wrong… Kim is upstairs with men and we need help." She says minutes later, Kardashian "hopped" into her room, explaining: "To see my friend with her feet taped and a very light robe with nothing under, and all messed up and pulled, I thought she could have been raped or very violated." She said she removed the tape from Kardashian's feet, and her friend was "beside herself", adding, "I've never seen her like that before. She was screaming, 'We need to get out, what do we do if they come back? We need to jump from the first floor, we need to get out'". Later, when questioned by the lawyer of one of the defendants on why she did not come out of the bathroom, she said: "I'm the kind of person to hide, [Kardashian's] the kind of person to take care of other people." 'Just because a woman wears jewellery, doesn't make her a target' When asked by the judge whether she or Kardashian had believed at the time that wearing and sharing images of such expensive jewellery would be a risk, Ms Harouche says: "Just because a woman wears jewellery doesn't make her a target. That's like saying because a woman wears a short skirt she deserves to be raped". She went on to say: "I think that that moment changed [Kardashian's] life forever... In terms of security, she doesn't go alone to places anymore." Following the robbery, Ms Harouche says she quit her job as a stylist as the experience "made me fearful of all the things that could happen to celebrities, and being around them". Asking for 'forgiveness' At the end of her time in the witness stand, the judge attempted to play a video message from one of the defendants, Yunice Abbas. Mr Abbas, who has admitted his part in the heist, published a book in 2021, titled "I Kidnapped Kim Kardashian". A court has since ruled he will not benefit financially from it. A tech issue meant the message would not play, so instead, the judge read out the statement from Mr Abbas, asking for "forgiveness" for his actions. When asked by the judge if she had a reaction to the apology, Ms Harouche answered, "No". The trial, which is being held in front of three judges and six jury members, is due to conclude at the end of this week. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.
Al Arabiya
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Al Arabiya
Kim Kardashian to testify in Paris robbery trial
Reality TV star Kim Kardashian is set to testify on Tuesday afternoon at the trial of a gang accused of robbing her at gunpoint in her Paris hotel room in 2016 and stealing jewelry worth millions of dollars. The suspects are accused of tying up the billionaire celebrity with zip ties and duct tape before making off with jewels, including a $4 million engagement ring given to her by her then-husband, rapper Kanye West (now known as Ye), according to investigators. Early on Tuesday, hours before Kardashian's testimony, dozens of journalists queued up to get into the tribunal. Kardashian told David Letterman about the heist in a 2020 interview, fighting back tears as she recalled her fears of being raped that night. 'They kept on saying 'the ring, the ring,'' Kardashian said. 'I kept looking at the concierge,' she continued, referring to the concierge of the exclusive hotel who had been forced at gunpoint to lead the gang to her apartment. 'I was like, 'Are we gonna die? Just tell them I have children, I have babies … I have to get home.'' Yunice Abbas, 71, who is among the 10 suspects standing trial – many in their late 60s or 70s and dubbed 'the grandpa gang' – has told French media that he and others who took part in the robbery did not know who Kardashian was. 'It's not her, it's her diamond we targeted,' Abbas told C8 TV a few years ago. Abbas has admitted his participation in the robbery – writing a book about his role. In interviews with French media, he said he was sorry for what he did and wanted to apologize to Kardashian. There is no possibility of a guilty plea in such cases, and Abbas is standing trial despite admitting to playing a role in the robbery. Frank Berton, a lawyer representing 68-year-old Aomar Ait Khedache, nicknamed 'Omar the Old,' said last month he hoped the fact that Kardashian is a global star wouldn't affect the trial. Khedache is accused of being the gang's ringleader, which he denies. 'This trial attracts international attention because of who the plaintiff, the victim, is,' Berton said. 'What we hope is that it won't change anything in the way the facts are judged,' he said.
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Kim Kardashian Was Bound and Gagged as Thieves Robbed Her in Paris a Decade Ago. Now, 10 People Face Trial
The trial for the suspects involved in the armed robbery of Kim Kardashian during Paris Fashion Week in 2016 began Monday, April 28. Ten people are expected to appear in court to face charges in connection with the heist, according to the New York Times, NBC News and ABC News. PEOPLE learned in March that the SKIMS co-founder, 44, will testify in person at the trial. On Oct. 6, 2016, armed thieves broke into Kardashian's room at the No Address hotel in Paris, where they bound and gagged her before putting her in a bathtub. As they held her hostage, five masked men stole millions of dollars worth of jewelry from the reality star in the middle of the night, PEOPLE previously reported. "They put plastic ties around her wrists, but she managed to squeeze her hands out of the wrist ties by wriggling her hands," a source close to Kardashian told PEOPLE in 2016. After escaping, a second source told PEOPLE that Kardashian "screamed from the balcony" for help. Kardashian has said the robbers took two diamond Cartier bracelets, a gold and diamond Jacob necklace, Lorraine Schwartz diamond earrings, a gold Rolex and other items during the heist, according to French newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche. A $4 million ring gifted to her by then-husband Kanye West was also among the items stolen. According to the Times, the stolen jewelry was estimated to be worth nearly $9 million and most of it was never recovered. Related: Kim Kardashian West's Paris Heist: Everything to Know The reality star opened up about the ordeal in a 2017 episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians. "They ask for money. I said I don't have any money," she told her sisters in the episode. "They dragged me out on to the hallway on top of the stairs. That's when I saw the gun clear, like clear as day. I was kind of looking at the gun, looking down back at the stairs." "I was like; 'I have a split second in my mind to make this quick decision," she continued. "Am I going to run down the stairs and either be shot in the back? It makes me so upset to think about it. Either they're going to shoot me in the back, or if I make it and they don't, if the elevator does not open in time, or the stairs are locked, then like I'm f—ed. There's no way out." Kardashian herself has said she believed the perpetrators tracked her via social media. "I was Snapchatting that I was home and that everyone was going out," she explained in the episode. "So I think they knew Pascal [her bodyguard] was out with Kourtney and that I was there by myself." Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. French police initially arrested 17 suspects across France in connection with the armed robbery in January 2017. Now, 10 of them — half of them being alleged accomplices — are facing trial. One of the men indicted by prosecutors is the younger brother of Kardashian's Paris chauffeur. The group was dubbed the "Grandpa robbers" by French media due to their ages and previous criminal history, according to ABC News. Related: Kim Kardashian Worries She's 'Turning into a Full Robot' with 'No Emotion' After Surviving 2016 Paris Robbery Aomar Ait Khedache, who is believed to have orchestrated the heist, has apologized to Kardashian in a letter written from his prison cell, the Associated Press previously reported. According to the AP, Yunice Abbas, one of the suspects on trial, has admitted to his involvement in the robbery and even co-wrote a book about the ordeal in 2021 titled 'I Sequestered Kim Kardashian.' In a statement shared with the AP this month, the 71-year-old said, 'I will apologize. I mean it sincerely.' Days before the trial began, Kardashian posted an Instagram carousel with photos from her recent trip to Maui, including one of her diamond anklets. Read the original article on People
