Kris Jenner allegedly leaked Kim Kardashian's infamous 2003 sex tape with "Ray J" William Ray Norwood Jr. that launched her family into fame and fortune, according to Hollywood author Ian Halperin.
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In his new book Kardashian Dynasty, Halperin quoted a source in the "adult film industry" claiming Kardashian's mother was behind the whole scandal and Kardashian signed a contract with the adult film company Vivid Entertainment in 2007 to release her sex tape, the New York Post reported.
The source supposedly said, "A mutual friend of Kim and [Paris Hilton] had advised her that if she wanted to achieve fame, a sex tape would be the way to go... Kim had discussed the idea of producing a tape with her family beforehand."
Halperin quoted another insider -- whom he claimed was an old friend of Kardashian's -- writing, "It was Kris who engineered the deal behind the scenes and was responsible for the tape seeing the light of day."
Halperin reportedly also posed as a porn peddler, telling Vivid that he had a celebrity sex tape to negotiate, although it was fake. He wrote in the book that a Vivid representative explained, "When it comes to... selling a sex tape, both parties need to sign off."
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When the representative was questioned about how Vivid gained possession of the Keeping Up with the Kardashians star's tape, the individual allegedly replied, "A third party brought it to Vivid... [We] got in touch with the Kardashian family."
Kardashian and Norwood Jr. began dating and made the home sex video in 2003 but split in 2006. As history has documented the series of events, Vivid bought the rights to the video for $1 million and released it in February 2007. Kardashian sued the company for ownership of the tape, however, she ended up settling for $5 million in late April 2007.
Keeping Up with the Kardashians then premiered in October 2007.
In response to accusations in Halperin's book, Kardashian's representative told the Post on Sunday, "All the assertions are false."
Kardashian also memorably sat down with Oprah in 2012 for an interview, during which she insisted the sex tape embarrassed her family and she hated causing them shame. Kardashian said she felt "humiliated" over the video leak and had to work that much harder to be taken seriously.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski