Over the years, there have been many massive heists of valuables, and even with advanced technology, this continues to occur unabated. Unfortunately, the latest diamond heist incident happened to actress Jodie Turner-Smith in Cannes, France.
New details continue to come out in regards to this troubling jewelry heist upon the Queen & Slim Actress. Sources close to the actress note that this actress, who was staying at the Marriott Hotel on the Croisette, had been down to breakfast on Friday when the robbers made their move.
They broke into her room, stealing jewelry that was worth tens of thousands of dollars. One of the items they took was completely priceless: her mother’s wedding ring.
After the diamond heist, they immediately moved Turner-Smith from the Marriott to the Majestic Hotel, which is a few blocks further down the Croisette. They also gave her a large security detail that accompanied her everywhere. One of the main reasons for this is because the actress is in town with her one-year-old daughter and that has led to some especially heightened concerns about their safety.
Turner-Smith is in Cannes for the first time, and it is widely believed that she may have been targeted by the diamond thieves after she had been seen wearing diamond and gold jewelry from the Gucci High Jewelry line to the “After Yang” on the preceding Thursday.
Although Turner-Smith had immediately taken the diamond jewelry back after the premiere, it’s believed that these robbers might have broken into Turner-Smith’s room simply because they believed that the items were still in her possession.
Even though she suffered through this traumatic episode, Turner-Smith was able to carry on with her appearances and work in Cannes, where she even sat down with Variety for a Kering Women in Motion talk that following Sunday.
Later that Sunday, Turner-Smith tweeted: “didn’t think that I would be spending 2.5 hours in the police station on my final day in Cannes, but here we are…”
A publicist for the actor noted that she was spending a considerable amount of time at the police so that she could report this jewelry theft. Turner-Smith may have alerted the public, but the Cannes Police Department did not immediately respond to Variety magazine’s request for comment.
Local publication Nice-Matin noted that the theft occurred on Friday, but they did not name the hotel or the victim. To their credit, the source noted that Turner-Smith had been staying at the Marriott. According to the Nice-Matin news publication, the hotel did not have any forced entry on the celebrity’s door. However, an investigation continues to be underway.
Local publication Nice-Matin reported on the theft on Friday but did not name the hotel or victim. The source also noted that Turner-Smith was staying at the Marriott, though details have not been confirmed and Marriott did not immediately respond to a request for comment. According to the Nice-Matin, there was no forced entry of the hotel room’s door, which is opened using a key card, and an investigation is underway.
During Kering’s Women in Motion segment, Turner-Smith spoke about how she felt it was her mission to promote individuals of color in the film industry:
“I want to make my life about not only working with incredible directors but working with women, working with women of color, using the opportunities that I have to give opportunities to people where the industry is being gate-kept to them or [who] are not being given the level of respect they deserve when they are extremely talented,” Turner-Smith said.
If this had been the first time that there had been a diamond heist at the Cannes Film Festival, it would have been bad enough. However, there have been several similar instances since at least 2013.