Kim Kardashian has said her former husband Kanye 'Ye' West warned her she was 'looking to get robbed' just days before she was held at gunpoint in Paris in 2016.
The businesswoman, 45, was held at gunpoint on October 3, 2016, while in Paris during Fashion Week. An armed gang entered the $14,000-a-night hotel suite she was sharing with her sister Kourtney and their friends.
Warning after posting rings online
Kim has told author Jonathan Van Meter that her then-husband had warned her about a potential robbery after she wore two engagement rings to one of Kanye's concerts in New York City. She had been given a second engagement ring, a 'twenty-something-carat' ring from the rapper, just days before.
In an excerpt from his new book, shared by the Daily Mail, Kim said: "I wore both [engagement] rings out to one of Kanye’s concerts in New York City. Someone videoed my hands, and I posted it because it was so blingy to have two huge diamond rings on. And I vividly remember that Kanye saw the post and said, 'Don't ever do that again – you're just looking to get robbed.' He said, 'I'm flashy, but that's crazy, even for me.' And I was like 'OK, got it.'"
The robbery and its aftermath
Kourtney had headed out for the night, leaving just Kim and a childhood friend at the hotel, when the masked gang broke in. The men, dressed as policemen, forced their way past the single concierge, who was handcuffed and had a gun pressed to his head. He was instructed to take them to Kim's room, where they demanded her engagement ring from the bedside table.
One man grabbed Kim while she was wearing a bathrobe and pulled her close to him. Her friend Simone heard her shouting that she had children and saying "Take whatever you want," and sent a message in their group chat, leading Kourtney to instruct their security guard Pascal to return to the hotel.
During an episode of Keeping Up With The Kardashians, Kim previously said of the ordeal: "Then he duct tapes my face and mouth to get me to not yell or anything and then he grabs my legs - and I have no clothes on - and he pulls me towards him at the front of the bed and I thought this is the moment they are going to rape me and I fully mentally prepped myself. And then he didn't and he duct taped my legs together and then they had the gun up to me and I just knew that was the moment they are totally going to shoot me in the head. I prayed that Kourtney is going to have a normal life after she sees my dead body on the bed. I have a family, I have kids, my husband, my mum. I’m not going to make it out of here. I know how these things go. That was my last thought and then they picked me up and put me in the bathroom and then ran. Whatever. It's all replaceable. None of it matters."
Verdict in Paris trial
Kim made it out of the situation without suffering any major physical injuries. Ten people went on trial in the French capital for their involvement and faced charges including armed robbery and kidnapping in an organised gang. A six-member jury, led by three judges, came to a verdict in Paris, finding the ringleader and seven others guilty, with two of the 10 defendants acquitted.
Before the jury retired, Aomar Aït Khedache, who personally held Kim at gunpoint, begged the star for forgiveness. "I can't find the words to say how sorry I am. I offer a thousand apologies," he wrote on a piece of paper, with his claims displayed on a screen inside the Voltaire Chamber of the court.
