Kim Kardashian to sue website over ‘fake robbery’ allegations
Reality star files lawsuit against Mediatakeout.com after it accused her of faking Paris heist in order to cheat insurers
Kim Kardashian has filed a lawsuit against the gossip website Mediatakeout.com after it alleged that she faked having her jewellery stolen in Paris to cheat insurers out of millions.
A suit filed in New York said that after having been the victim of a horrific and traumatic armed robbery in France, Kim Kardashian returned to the United States only to again be victimised, but this time by an online gossip tabloid that published a series of articles in early October 2016 referring to her [as] a liar and thief.
The articles claimed, without any factual support whatsoever, that Kardashian faked the robbery, lied about the violent assault, and then filed a fraudulent claim with her insurance company to bilk her carrier out of millions of dollars, it added.
Defendants malicious publication of the articles, which paint the victim of a serious crime as a criminal herself, is libellous per se.
The reality TV star, 35, who was in the French capital for fashion week, was robbed on 3 October by five men posing as police officers.
Kardashian was tied up and locked in a bathroom while a ring worth about 4m (3.6m) and a case of jewellery with a value of 5m were taken.
Two mobile phones were also stolen during the robbery at the property in the Madeleine district of Paris, near the citys main department stores.
French prosecutors have formally opened an investigation into the robbery, a judicial source told AFP on Wednesday, focusing on armed theft in a gang, criminal conspiracy and kidnapping. DNA traces that were found in the luxury apartment where Kardashian and her entourage were staying are being examined, another source said.
Kardashian flew home to the US after being questioned by police over the incident, which a spokeswoman said had left her badly shaken.