Robbery victim Kardashian takes back control

After a traumatic robbery which saw her tied up at gunpoint, no one expected US reality star and social media queen Kim Kardashian to spring immediately back into the limelight.

But the normally prolific tweeter hasn't posted online since the October 3 incident in Paris, prompting speculation that the hiatus is part of a careful strategy to stage-manage her recovery from the horrifying ordeal.

The multimillionaire, who was in the French capital for Paris Fashion Week, was locked in a bathroom while five robbers posing as police stole a $4.5 million ring and a case of jewelry valued at $5.6 million.

Kardashian, 35, flew back to Los Angeles to be comforted by family, halting her part in filming for reality show "Keeping Up with the Kardashians," according to entertainment cable station E!.

A fixture of celebrity news for more than a decade, the star earns an estimated $1 million a month from her social media engagement, mainly through product endorsements and promotion of her own brand.

But her 84 million followers on Instagram and 48 million on Twitter, many of whom have been asking questions about her security arrangements, have been denied her version of events.

Meanwhile Kardashian matriarch Kris Jenner has been marshalling specialist firms to discuss better security for Kim and her other daughters, Kourtney, 37, Khloe, 32, Kendall, 20, and Kylie, 19, according to gossip website TMZ.

'Master strategist'

Observers say Jenner has likely also taken the opportunity to sit down with the clan and draw up a meticulous plan for Kim's comeback, including the timing of her return to social media.

"They wouldn't be Kardashians if they didn't use this to their advantage," Rob Shuter, a former Hollywood publicist for Jennifer Lopez, Jessica Simpson and others, who now runs NaughtyGossip.com, told AFP.

"So they are certainly sitting down with their people and Kris Jenner is a master strategist herself."

Shuter said several television networks had been clamoring to secure an exclusive interview with Kim.

"E! and NBC are owned by the same company so I would guess she'll get a prime-time special on NBC," he said, adding that Kardashian was an expert in generating anticipation among her fans and would make a "very dramatic" return to social media.

"It will probably be a picture of a shadow or a poem or inspirational quote by Maya Angelou. Then there will be a countdown to the big sit-down interview," he told AFP.

Shuter says Kardashian's reported $1 million a month earnings from social media is likely a "conservative" estimate, meaning that she will not be able to stay offline for long.

'Wake-up call'

"I don't think anyone is going to sue her after such a horrible incident, but technically she is probably in violation of a contract as we speak," he told AFP.

"Because I think in those contracts that I've seen, she has to tweet or post x times a week. Even if she is not directly promoting the product, just having her face and her name out there... all that helps."

E! quoted an unnamed insider as saying Kardashian was receiving "some professional counseling" while Khloe Kardashian told Ellen DeGeneres on Tuesday her sister was "not doing that well."

"I mean, it's incredibly traumatic what happened to her, but our family is super close and great and we'll get through it together, and we do appreciate all of your guys' love and support and it will take time," Khloe said.

It was the first time a family member had broken their silence since the robbery, which Khloe said was a "wake-up call" that had given them a new perspective on security and online privacy.

With the Kardashians beginning to open up, Kim and her family have demonstrated that they will brook no speculation that she overplayed the incident for her own gain.

The mother-of-two and wife of rap superstar Kanye West filed a lawsuit Tuesday against Mediatakeout.com for alleging in a series of articles that she faked having her jewelry robbed to cheat her insurers out of millions.

AFP reached out to Kardashian's representatives but there was no immediate response.

Kim Kardashian sues website over fraud report

Kim Kardashian filed suit Tuesday against Mediatakeout.com for alleging the reality TV star faked having her expensive jewelry robbed in Paris to cheat her insurers out of millions.

In a suit filed in New York, the 35-year-old star 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 victimized, but this time by an online gossip tabloid that published a series of articles in early October 2016 referring to her 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," the lawsuit said.

"Defendants' malicious publication of the Articles, which paint the victim of a serious crime as a criminal herself, is libelous per se."

The multimillionaire US reality TV star, who was in the French capital for Paris Fashion Week, was robbed on October 3 by five men posing as police officers.

Kardashian was tied up and locked in the bathroom while the robbers helped themselves to a ring worth around four million euros ($4.5 million) and a case of jewelry with a value of five million euros ($5.6 million).

Two mobile phones were also stolen during the holdup in the chic Madeleine district of Paris, near the city's main department stores.

The mother of two and wife of rap superstar Kanye West flew home to the US after being questioned by police over the incident, which a spokeswoman said had left her "badly shaken."

Kim Kardashian West's Paris robbers used decoy to escape

Kim Kardashian West's Paris robbers reportedly used a decoy to escape, and the dropped gem was all part of their plan.

Police investigating the theft - which saw the 35-year-old beauty lose over $10 million worth of property to a group of men who raided her Paris apartment - reportedly discovered a tiny gemstone close to the residence on Sunday, but now think it might be a decoy used to make police "believe that they were amateurs".

A police official told Us Weekly magazine: "They wanted us to believe that they were amateurs, but all the real clues point to them being extremely sophisticated professionals. There is no way a gang like this would drop stuff and fall off bicycles -- all that was done for any cameras that might be in the area. It is far more likely that they played around on bikes for a few minutes after stealing the jewels, and when they still had their masks on, before they all got into a van and disappeared."

The source explained that the burglars set up a "double bluff" in which one of the five men fell off his bicycle whilst another pretended to drop a piece of jewellery as they fled.

The gem that was found was reportedly of much lower worth that the rest of the haul, which the source said was because it was part of their escape plan, and so they chose a lower valued item to drop.

It was previously reported that police were hoping the dropped gem would lead to the capture of the criminals, as they hoped it would mean the gang made more mistakes along the way.

A source said previously: "A piece of stolen jewellery was found close to the block, and was presumably dropped by the gang. It suggests that the criminals may have made mistakes because they were in such a hurry."

Police find gem in Kim Kardashian West's Paris robbery case

Police looking for clues after Kim Kardashian West was robbed at gunpoint have found a tiny gemstone.

Police investigating the theft - which saw the 35-year-old beauty lose over $10 million worth of property to a group of men who raided her Paris apartment - reportedly discovered a tiny gemstone close to the residence, and are hoping the oversight will lead to proof the gang made more mistakes and will be easier to trace.

A source told Mail on Sunday newspaper: "A piece of stolen jewellery was found close to the block, and was presumably dropped by the gang. It suggests that the criminals may have made mistakes because they were in such a hurry."

The news comes shortly as it was reported Kim and her husband Kanye West - who have children North, three, and Saint, 10 months, together - have called in special forces veterans to help find the perpetrators and overhaul their personal security plan.

A source told the Sunday People newspaper: "They've 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.

"For Kim, it's about feeling safe. She needs to know that a security breach like this will never happen again.

"For Kanye, it's about knowing exactly who is responsible."

And it has been claimed that Kim is looking for a body double after her terrible ordeal in which five armed, masked men stormed into her room and tied her up with plastic handcuffs and duct tape.

A source previously said: "There's a circus that follows Kim's every move. Her new security team is recommending she employ a body double to help confuse would-be assailants."

Kanye - who resumed his 'Saint Pablo' tour over the weekend after postponing two dates to look after Kim - is said to be feeling "helpless" following the robbery.

An insider explained: "Kanye says that it has been one of the hardest times of his life, that he feels helpless.

"This is a guy who isn't used to feeling helpless at all. He's usually in control. And now he sees that he could have lost her, and there wasn't a thing he could do about it."

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