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Kim Kardashian robbery spurred by her social media posts, police say

LOS ANGELES — Kim Kardashian West may have been robbed as a result of flaunting her wealth on social media, police in Paris said.

American television and social media personality,socialite, and model Kim Kardashian attends the Cannes Lions 2015, International Advertising Festival in Cannes, southern France, Wednesday, June 24, 2015. Photo: AP

American television and social media personality,socialite, and model Kim Kardashian attends the Cannes Lions 2015, International Advertising Festival in Cannes, southern France, Wednesday, June 24, 2015. Photo: AP

LOS ANGELES — Kim Kardashian West may have been robbed as a result of flaunting her wealth on social media, police in Paris said.

“Clearly when you have a star like Kim Kardashian who has, I think, more than 48 million followers on Twitter ... I think this could have happened abroad just as easily as in Paris. 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,” Paris police spokeswoman Johanna Primevert told the Associated Press.

Kardashian West was reportedly held at gunpoint and later bound and gagged in her private Parisian apartment early Monday morning (Oct 3) as robbers walked away with a US$4.5 million (S$6.2 million) ring and a box containing US$6 million worth of jewels. The culprits have not been found.

Designer Karl Lagerfeld echoed Primevert’s remarks, telling reporters after his Chanel fashion show, “I don’t understand why she was in a hotel with no security and things like this. If you are that famous and you put all your jewellery on the net, you go to hotels where nobody can come near to the room. You cannot display your wealth and then be surprised that some people want to share it with you.”

Lagerfeld later posted a handwritten note of support to Kim on Instagram that read, “Dear Kim, we are all with you. Love, Karl.”

Kardashian West and her famous family have been silent on social media since the incident. The reality star is the fifth most popular celebrity on Instagram, with 84.2 million followers (Selena Gomez hold the top spot with 99.51 million). Kim’s younger half-sister Kylie Jenner is the eighth most popular, with 74.2 million followers.

Among the luxury items Kardashian West has posted on her account: A giant diamond ring given to her by husband Kanye West (widely believed to be the one stolen), Lorraine Schwartz jewels, Givenchy furs and Roberto Cavalli baby clothes for her daughter North West.

Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo agreed the robbery was an isolated incident. “It in no way affects the safety of Parisian public spaces ... the streets are protected,” she said in a statement.

“It’s not the safety in Paris that is involved, it’s maybe the security situation in that residence,” Primevert told AP in agreement. VARIETY.COM/REUTERS

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