Kim Kardashian is part of the most famous reality tv family of the decade, “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” and are well, famous for being famous. But being famous can be very dangerous at times as it means that everyone knows who you are and can now follow your every move thanks to social media and magazines. But this danger became a reality for the socialite this week as she become the victim of an armed robbery in Paris….or did she?
(Picture Above: Kim Kardashian is the 2nd oldest girl out of a family of 8)
Monday 3rd October– It has been reported today in an article by the NZ Herald that Kim has “had almost NZ$15.5 million worth of jewellery stolen by at least two armed masked men dressed as police officers when she was robbed at gunpoint at a Paris apartment earlier today, police say….At around 2.30am, the robbers are believed to have entered the building and handcuffed the night guard. They then entered the 35-year-old reality star’s room, threatened her with a weapon, “tied her up and locked her in the bathroom” Kim was in Paris for fashion week and has created chaos on twitter as people are mad that her husband Kayne West ran off stage in the middle of a headline performance due to the family emergency.
(Video Above: Shows Kayne stopping the show due to a “family emergency”)
The NZ Herald article that I read is very detailed but at this time it still gives a sense of uncertainty about exactly when, who and why this incident took place. Kim is now on her way home to the U.S fleeing the country in shock as herself and her family along with the media try to make sense of what has happen.
Tuesday 4th October- This morning I have woken up and the top story is Kim Kardashian being robbed in Paris as new details are revealed. The Sun has reported in an article today that Kim was not just tied up by the robbers, but was “left in the bath” and somehow escaped by “wiggling free” and then “yelled to neighbours” for help.
This is a new detail that I haven’t read anywhere else and leaves me wondering why no one came to help her and how the robbers didn’t hear her. Another development I have noticed is that in many news articles like this one, thedailybest.com and TMZ are all now saying that “Kim Kardashian told French police that she feared she was going to be raped” by the “gang of masked raiders”.
(Picture Above: “Dramatic reconstruction of the terrifying raid reveals how Kim Kardashian was left fearing for her life at the Paris apartment” says The Sun)
Notice the word “gang” that the dailybest.com used in their article making it sound like there were actually more than two robbers at the scene of the crime, unlike what originally was reported by NZ Herald. The Sun also goes on to say that “security experts believe the star’s Twitter and Snapchat messages shared her location with relative ease” as last week she posted a picture to her Instagram page of her wearing a diamond engagement ring Kanye West gave her, while the daily best reports that “speculation that the robbers had inside help is also increasing”.
The more I read these articles the more conflicting they are as they seem to be adding more and more details into this already dramatic enough story. For example instead of just having jewellery stolen The Sun reports that “two phones” were also stolen from the celebrity while TMZ reports that “Kim told cops the robbers did not know English and only spoke French. The only thing she understood … the men kept saying, “ring, ring.” Kim knew what they were after”
(Picture Above: The picture that Kim K posted on Instagram 5 days ago, as of the 4th of October, flashing her engagement ring)
Wednesday 5th October- There are SO many news articles, blog posts, media reports etc adding more and more details to this complicated story today that I don’t even know where to start. It has reported as of 2:43pm on the mirror.co.uk website that “French police have found CCTV footage which shows the faces of the thieves who robbed Kim Kardashian thanks to a lucky break” continuing on to say that “the five, who fled on hired bikes, escaped with her engagement ring and other jewellery worth £8.5million… there was only one security camera covering the prestigious £8,000-a-week Hotel Pourtales but was facing the wrong way, capturing none of the dramatic robbery.”
(Picture Above: Outside the apartment/hotel where Kim was robbed, held at gun point, gagged and tied up”)
This revelation couldn’t come sooner as overnight it has been speculated that the robbery was a PR stunt, dailymail.co.uk reports “people were quick to suggest the whole thing may have been a PR stunt, with many pointing out that this brutal robbery could not have come at a more opportune moment.It raises Kim’s profile just as the next series of her reality TV show, Keeping Up With The Kardashians, prepares to air. Ratings have been falling lately, reaching an all-time low in June for an episode in which her brother Rob announced his engagement to model Blac Chyna.”
One blogger named Susannah Bianchi even went as far as saying in her post, that she’s “amazed at the press over Kim Kardashian being robbed at gunpoint in her Paris hotel room after putting all her jewelry on social media. That’s like blaming fishermen for fishing after loading your pond with trout.” says Bianchi, calling the Kardashian “one-ply” and a “professional celebrity without cause” asking the question “what about all those other people who really have been killed?…But of course, the Kardashians are much more important than let’s say, Syria?” I personally felt frustrated and angry by reading this blog post as I felt Susannah was almost saying that Kim deserved being tied up and robbed at gun point.
But The Mirror says that it “has sensationally been claimed tonight that the thieves WERE captured by another CCTV camera covering a nearby nail salon during the getaway.In a ‘million-to-one’ scenario, the gang can be seen in the reflection of a mirror as they walked through a small shopping precinct adjacent to the Kardashian apartment on Rue Tronchet, it is claimed.They then went through an unlocked office door and into a car park where they jumped onto motorbikes, according to The Sun.”
Thursday 6th October-The buzz around this story seems to have died now a lot since yesterday as its seems that Paris police are getting close to solving the mystery of the armed men who robbed the reality star. Edition.cnn.com reported in an article today that “Johanna Primevert, chief spokeswoman for the Paris police department, told CNN that Kardashian’s celeb status — as well as her millions of social media followers — made her easy pickings for thieves. It was really the celebrity who was targeted, with possessions that had been seen and noticed via social media, and it was these goods that the attackers targeted, Primevert said” This article like the The Sun article, from Tuesday 4th October also reports that “a phone and $10 million worth of jewellery”.
One of the most stand out reporting differences that I have found within all the articles I’ve read so far on this story, is that there is no definite money value for the jewellery that was stolen. For example the NZ Herald article reported on Monday that Kim “had almost NZ$15.5 million worth of jewellery stolen” while The Mirror reported yesterday that the “engagement ring and other jewellery” was “worth £8.5million” but I am aware that these reporting differences are mainly due to currency differences as each country reports the translated amount to their public so its easier to understand the enormity of the money that was taken from Mrs Kardashian-West.
A video along with an article has also been released today by The Mirror that captures what is suspected to be the armed robbers. The article says, “Kim Kardashian was followed through the streets of Paris by a motorist and biker just hours before she was robbed by gunmen in her apartment…[The reality tv star] left the Givenchy fashion fitting on Monday with husband Kanye West and her sister Kourtney.”
(Video Above: “Shows a Fiat 500 following behind photographers as the star left the Givenchy fitting in France” says The Mirror)
“This clip captured around 8pm just hours before she was robbed (was captured by) “the photographers have claimed that the driver – who was talking on his phone on loudspeaker and dressed smartly – tried to cut in front of the bikes to get behind Kim’s car.” the article continues, “she was tailed by two men posing as a policeman and photographer in the days leading up to the robbery…trying to gain ‘close surveillance’ information for Sunday night’s raid…the men – who spoke with French accents – are now said to be suspects.”
This article sheds even more light on the situation by finishing the internet news report saying that, “French police suspect that the five alleged robbers had some contact with her security and were tipped off about her procedures, they claimed. They knew there was no security [with her inside her apartment that night]. All they had to do was go in, make contact with someone inside the hotel.”
(Picture Above: Kim Kardashian and her allegedly ex-bodyguard Pascal Duvier)
Friday 7th October-It has been four days since the world learned about Kim Kardashian’s nightmare in Paris, that left her terrified and fearing for her life. Today the socialite heads back to her home town of Los Angels with her two children and husband in tow. The Mirror says in an article that “[Kim Kardashian’s] bodyguard has been seen loading a suitcase into a car outside her New York apartment…Pascal who was with her sisters Kendall and Kourtney at the time of the horrific ordeal – can be seen putting luggage into a vehicle after a source told Us Weekly that the star was returning to Los Angeles with Kanye West and their children.” This report came as a surprise for some who speculated the bodyguard would be let go after failing to protect Kim from the incident but The Mirror continues on to say that “a source close to Kim has told Mirror Celebs this is not the case – while security appears to have been stepped up….Pascal has not been sacked,” they said. “He is a close friend, and both Kim and Kanye like and respect him. They don’t blame him for the robbery.”
Saturday 8th & Sunday 9th October-The articles that contained information about the robbery have now seemed to fade, come Saturday morning, as the most recent news article is by The Daily Mail talking about how the Kardashian will lose “$1M a month says celebrity financial adviser Samuel Rad, who explained that every single social media post was worth around $20,000 to Kim’s brand – and that’s before the cost of sponsored posts…But, he explained, if handled correctly, Kim could have a big pay date in the not so distant future.” as Rad thinks “what’s going to happen is the first post she’s going to put up… it’s going to get so many more followers and hits,’ he explained.’I think it could be a really big moneymaker for her brand.” This concern comes after the obsessive social media user, Kim, is “shunning the spotlight she has worked so hard to acquire.” says the Daily Mail as “filming on her show has been suspended and she’s not updated social media once, amid talk that her addiction to flaunting her wealth on sites such as Instagram and Snapchat made her a target.”
Daily Mail as posted an article today, Sunday, saying that “Kim Kardashian has called in special forces veterans to help protect her and find the mastermind behind the attack she suffered in Paris….A source said: ‘They’ve [Kim and Kanye] decided to use their own experts as part of their security overhaul. Some of them have worked for the world’s top intelligence agencies. If anyone can get to the bottom of what went on, these guys will.” while The Mirror today reported that “French police believe there could be an inside man”
Overall after following this story for a week and hearing more and more details I am convinced that what happened to Kim was not a PR stunt and that she did in fact get robbed. A good PR wouldn’t won’t to bring this kind of negative press to their client and it would just be stupid and offensive to lie about something like this. I have gained symphony and respect for Kim Kardashian over this past week, that I didn’t have before, and I wish her well.
References:
http://m.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=11721705
http://www.tmz.com/2016/10/03/kim-kardashian-robbery-paris/
http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/sensational-claims-french-police-faces-8980772
https://wordpress.com/read/blogs/25654527/posts/34966
http://edition.cnn.com/2016/10/04/entertainment/kim-kardashian-police-social-media/index.html
http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/kim-kardashian-armed-robbery-clue-8985508
http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/kim-kardashian-armed-robbery-clue-8985508
http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/kim-kardashians-bodyguard-pascal-duvier-8993935
http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/kim-kardashian-calls-ex-special-9008937
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