Gunmen Steal Millions in Jewelry from Kim Kardashian
VAUSE: Kim Kardashian is back in New York after armed thieves robbed her at gunpoint in Paris on Monday. $10 million of jewelry was taken.</s>SESAY: West was forced to beg for her life and was bound and gagged. Our Melissa Bell is in Paris.</s>MELISSA BELL, CNN PARIS CORRESPONDENT: For now, investigators are remaining tight lipped about where the investigation is here in France. There is a sense of embarrassment this should have been allowed to happen at all that five men would have been able to overpower a single security guard and find themselves in the room of Kim Kardashian and able to rob her of $10 million worth of her jewelry. French authorities are trying to lure celebrities back to Paris after a huge drop in the numbers of people who are making their way to the French capitol. This is a terrible news story, and one they will be keen to see the back of us as quickly as they can. Melissa Bell, CNN, Paris.</s>VAUSE: Joining us now for more on this, entertainment journalist, Sandro Monetti; and Scott Selby, co-author of "Flawless, Inside the Largest Diamond Heist in History." Guys, thank you for being with us. This was a huge story when I woke up. All around the world, big news. Scott, how much would the thieves have known about their target? Kim Kardashian is out there on social media. Look at this. This is Kim Kardashian on social media in Paris before she was robbed.</s>KIM KARDASHIAN, REALITY TV STAR: On our way to Givenchy. Show is about to start so -- can't wait to see her walk in it. The clothes are amazing.</s>SESAY: Here she is showing off that monster diamond ring. This is on Instagram. So, Scott, how much of a target was she, especially in Paris at this time of year during the fashion show?</s>SCOTT ANDREW SELBY, AUTHOR: She was a huge target. The thieves know that celebrities and wealthy people attend fashion week in Paris. It's an amazing event. I have gone to four shows there myself, it's incredible. Just like the Cannes Film Festival it brings the most famous who have these jewels and you can track and follow them. She makes it easy. She tells the entire world, here's what I have and here's where I am.</s>SESAY: Sandro, people are saying, to Scott's point, she says, here's what I have, and inferring she brought it on herself. Is that fair? That's the name of the game, every celebrity is flaunting it. No one suspects this will be the outcome.</s>SANDRO MONETTI, ENTERTAINMENT JOURNALIST: They won't be doing it much longer. This is a transformative moment in celebrity culture, a wakeup call to the superstar world. No one's going to be flaunting their wealth and saying where they are and what they're wearing if it is going to end with you having a gun to your head and tied up, gagged, and in fear for your life in a bathroom.</s>VAUSE: With that point, there were a lot of people on social media, Kim Kardashian's natural habitat, wishing her well, hoping she was okay, but a lot of people were mocking her as well. This one tweet was typical of what was said, "Kim Kardashian robbed at gunpoint in Paris, finally, some good news on a Monday." The driving theme in all of this is that she deserved something like this. Clearly, no one deserves to be robbed but could she take more precautions.</s>SELBY: She didn't deserve this, and this is a terrible event. And thank god that nobody was hurt any more than they were. Of course, there is a balance between security and doing what you want in this world. You can live in a fortress but that's not much of a life. But there are basic things. We're still working out the social media stuff. This is all new that we are living out in the world like this. 10 years ago, thieves would have to follow you all the time to learn what you have and where you are, and now the information is out there. Imagine going forward, just as celebrities have learned what the rules of social media are for their family, like they say to the nannies don't put pictures of our children online, maybe don't pictures of where we are staying or the jewelry we have with us until after the event. Those sorts of things might develop.</s>SESAY: The other point that has to be highlighted is that this happened in Paris, in France, which has experienced a number of high- profile heists recently.</s>SELBY: Yes, Paris has had more than its share of heists lately. There's been three in Cannes in the last few years, similar things. You have people in their home territory and in their home, store and environment, they are secure, but the celebrities, they come out to the events, and now they're just in a small hotel and vulnerable.</s>VAUSE: You say this could be a turning point for celebrities. The Kardashians are a particular case in point, given how they rely on social media and being everywhere all the time, and make a hell of a lot of money doing that.</s>VAUSE: And then they come to the equation what is my livelihood, my life or my safety?</s>MONETTI: That is the dilemma at the moment. They're going to have a big rethink as are a lot of other stars. They have more social media following and need bigger security. We're talking about the biggest star in the world. We are talking about the Michael Jackson level. Michael Jackson always had seven security guards. There wasn't enough for Kim Kardashian. And, yeah, she represents an aspirational lifestyle. And it's interesting what you were saying about the reaction on Twitter, a lot of people resent this wealth as well, and whereas there has been an outpouring of support from the celebrity community, there has been an outpouring of hate from the trolls on Twitter.</s>MONETTI: This is a real wakeup call. She is lucky to be alive after the attack. And she and a lot of other stars have to rethink their relationship with social media and their audience.</s>SESAY: And, Scott, what are your thoughts on tracking down the jewels? What are the chances?</s>SELBY: I think the chances are quite low that the jewels will be recovered. It can quite easy to move on, to melt down the precious metals, to sell on the small and medium stones through Belgium. Like I wrote in my book, "Flawless," they'll just come to America and keep changing hands. And the big stones will be changed and altered.</s>SESAY: Is there an established system for moving something like this through?</s>SELBY: Yes. A fence will take it through, sell for 10 cents on a dollar and he will sell it on to people. It will be so easy. But the second and third buyer on, they will have no idea there is something wrong with it. The only hard thing is there are the amazing stones that are involved and they will be transformed before being sold off.</s>VAUSE: Sandro and Scott, it's an interesting story. There are so many parts to this story, how these people move forward, using social media, cashing in on it, but also keeping themselves safe. Thanks, guys.</s>SESAY: Thank you.</s>SELBY: Thank you.</s>SESAY: Thank you.</s>VAUSE: Next here on NEWSROOM L.A., the Muslim-American journalist who does her job wearing a hijab and now is breaking new ground in "Playboy."