Kim Kardashian has told a Paris court “I absolutely thought I was going to die” as she was robbed at gunpoint in her hotel suite during Paris Fashion Week.
The celebrity billionaire has come face-to-face with the alleged robbers accused of tying her up and stealing millions of pounds of her jewellery.
The US star broke down in tears as she relived her ordeal as she testified against them in a Paris courtroom on Tuesday.
Her voice quivered as she told the court she thought two robbers who came into her hotel suite during the 2016 heist were police officers.
She said a gun was held to her back - she thought about running, but realised it "wasn't an option".
She then described how they tied her hands with cable ties, dragged her to the bathtub and pointed a gun at her temple.
Reliving her ordeal, she told the court:"I came to Paris for fashion week. Paris was always a place that I loved so much. I used to walk around the city when I woke up in the middle of the night. I always felt very safe.
"It was around three in the morning. I heard stomping up the stairs when I was in bed. I kept calling out for my sister and one of my best friends, but no one answered me. And in my bedroom comes in a few police officers, or that I assumed were police officers as they were in police uniforms.
"I obviously was very confused. I had to make sense of what was happening. I was just about to fall asleep, naked with a robe on.
"Then I heard one of the gentlemen forcefully say 'Ring! Ring!' in English, with an accent, pointing.
"And I was still in such shock, because honestly a lot of terrorist attacks were happening in the world, and I thought it was some sort of terrorist attack, and I didn't immediately understand it was for my jewellery.
"They pulled me back in the room once they realized they had everything, and they threw me on the bed.
"I was pretty hysterical and I just looked at the concierge and told him: 'What is going to happen to us? I have to make it home to my babies.
"The other guy had a gun at me and it was at the end of the bed, so he grabs my leg and pulls me toward him on the bed so the robe is opened and everything is exposed and that was the moment when I thought he would rape me but he ended up tying me up and closed my legs.
"I absolutely thought I was going to die," she told the court."I thought about my sister, thought she would walk in and see me shot dead and have that memory in her forever."
Despite her trauma an emotional Kardashain told one of those who has admitted his guilt: "I forgive you".
Kardashian was asked during her testimony if she finds it contradictory that some suspects express regret without revealing who's involved in the gang.
She replied: "Two things can be true; regret can be genuine and I genuinely accept their apology, but I also think they [probably] don't want to snitch on anyone else and get them in more trouble."
Her testimony marked the emotional climax of a trial that has gripped France and reignited debates about the cost of fame and what it means to live in public.
At the time of the robbery, Kardashian was one of the most recognized women on the planet. A fashion icon. A reality star. A billionaire business mogul. She had mastered a new kind of celebrity - one broadcast in real time, post by post, to millions of followers.
But in the early hours of October 3, 2016, that visibility became a weapon against her. The robbery marked a turning point for Kardashian, and for how the world understood vulnerability in the digital age.
Dressed in black, Kardashian on Tuesday stood across from her mother, Kris Jenner, in the heavily secured courtroom. Her voice trembled as she thanked French authorities for "allowing me to share my truth."
French prosecutors say the assailants - most in their 60s and 70s - were part of a seasoned criminal ring that tracked her via Instagram. Two defendants have admitted being at the scene. One claims he didn't know who she was.
Twelve suspects were originally charged. One has since died. Another was excused due to illness. The French press dubbed them les papys braqueurs - "the grandpa robbers" - but prosecutors insist they were no harmless retirees.
They face charges including armed robbery, kidnapping and membership in a criminal gang, offenses that carry the potential for life imprisonment.
After the men fled, Kardashian rubbed the tape against the bathroom sink to free her hands. She hopped downstairs to find her friend and stylist, Simone Harouche. Fearing the robbers might return, they went onto the balcony and hid in bushes. While lying there, Kardashian called her mother.
Earlier in the trial, Harouche recalled hearing Kardashian scream from upstairs: "`I need to live.' That is what she kept on saying, `Take everything. I need to live."'
Harouche locked herself in a bathroom and texted Kardashian's sister and bodyguard: "Something is very wrong." Later, she heard Kardashian hopping down the stairs, her ankles still bound. "She was beside herself," Harouche said. "She just was screaming."
Read more: Kim Kardashian and the 'Grandpa Gang' — everything you need to know about the Paris trial
Kardashian arrived at the Paris court at around 1.30pm local time (12.30pm) BST and waved at crowds before entering the courthouse where there was heightened security.
The trial continues.
