Kim Kardashian's sex tape turns 10: behind the scenes of its publication
In 2007, Kim Kardashian's naughty video was revealed to the world. At first mortified, the young woman managed to overcome this disappointment and build an empire.
When she hears the news, Kim Kardashian is in tears: her sex tape, shot in 2003 with her ex-boyfriend Ray J, will soon be released by Vivid Entertainment, one of the biggest producers of pornographic films. We are then in 2007.
"She refused to admit it and cried at the same time, tells Page Six Kevin Dickson, former journalist of the magazine In Touch." It is not me, it is not me "", repeats then the young woman, confused.
Her friend at the time, Paris Hilton, herself the improvised star of a video shot with her ex Rick Salomon, promises her that she will put her lawyers on the spot, to prevent the sextape from being made public. But after very long negotiations, Kim Kardashian ends up signing an agreement with Vivid in February 2007. She pockets about five million dollars. The title of this 41-minute video? "Kim Kardashian, Superstar".
In the shadow of Paris Hilton until the video
At the time, Kim Kardashian lives in the shadow of Paris Hilton and tries to make herself known. She regularly contacts the celebrity newspapers to appear there, without too much success. “She would send me stories about her every week and we would promise her that we would publish them, until the editors gave up on it,” says Dickinson. “And then she made an appearance in The Simple. Life [Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie's reality show]. That was one of the conditions to write about her, you had to be on TV. She was there about 90 seconds, but it was enough to put her in. InTouch. "
Kim Kardashian has made a small reputation but remains, despite her efforts, in the shadow of her great friend. Until the publication of the sextape, which reveals it to the whole world. "Kim Kardashian, Superstar" is a huge success: in the last 10 years, the video has been viewed over 150 million times and has generated more than $ 50 million in revenue. A 3D version, with a Kim Kardashian lookalike, was even made.
An accelerator or a brake on his career?
Still, is it fair to say that this video is entirely responsible for Kim Kardashian's meteoric career? Dickinson recalls all the same that "it was frowned upon at that time to appear in a sextape".
The famous blogger Perez Hilton, interviewed by Page Six, believes that this video has done more harm than good to the young woman's career. "I'm sure Kim Kardashian would have gotten her [Keeping Up With the Kardashians] show without the sextape, says the blogger. First, she had a famous friend and she comes from a very connected family. Her stepfather is At the time Bruce Jenner, his mother was Kris Jenner, married to a very established lawyer [Robert Kardashian]. [...] They just knew the right people. If that hadn't happened in 2007, Kim and her family would have had their reality TV somewhere, at some point anyway. They wanted it, and they knew how to do it. "
Perez Hilton does not think so well saying: still according to Page Six, the project of the Incredible Kardashians is already underway and this, well before the publication of the sextape.
At Oprah Winfrey, in 2012, Kim Kardashian confirms having very badly experienced the publication of this video. She swears she must have "worked 10 times more". “It was a negative way of presenting myself to the world. [...] I felt humiliated,” she says. And to those who think that she orchestrated everything to become famous, she replies: "Why would anyone humiliate their family like this? [...] I'm going to have to explain this to my children one day. I had to explain that to my Grandmother."
Ray J and Paris Hilton, collateral victims of the video
Other collateral victims of this very naughty video? Her friendship with Paris Hilton, which explodes as soon as she becomes the most famous of the duo. “I was friends with the two at the time,” Kevin Dickinson tells Page Six. “And Paris would tell me that Kim took me for an idiot. While Kim was a reliable source, phenomenal.”
It must be said that the year of the publication of "Kim Kardashian, Superstar", The Simple Life is deprogrammed. And two weeks later, E! Entertainment announces the launch of Keeping Up With the Kardashians, produced by Bunim-Murray ... which is none other than the production house of The Simple Life. Hard to swallow for Paris Hilton.
As for Ray J, despite his video performance, he remains the "little brother of singer Brandy". Karrine Steffans, American author who has been in close contact with the young man, believes that it is undoubtedly due to his skin color. “I advised him not to sign a deal [with Vivid],” she tells Page Six. “Because he was the man in the story and also because he's African American. ..] But he thought it would bring him wealth and recognition ... He really, really, really thought it would give her some notoriety among young white women. But it's a different form of fame. White girls can do whatever they want and be famous. [...] Black women and men, certainly not, "she said.
Famous, Kim Kardashian is, it is undeniable. So much so that in 2015, Time magazine listed her among the 100 most influential people in the world. As for Keeping Up With the Kardashians, it's in its 13th season, despite Kim's recent robbery in Paris. A painful event that she once again managed to overcome.
