Even with the move from E! to a modern streaming platform like Hulu, the premiere episode of The Kardashians still proved to many fans that the new reality show wasn’t exactly a huge change of pace for the famous family. It even started up in a similar fashion as KUWTK, with with drama over Kim Kardashian’s 2007 sex tape. Kardashian initially expressed worry over additional footage possibly being leaked publicly – but her worries were apparently all for naught, because her now ex-husband Kanye West came to her aid not long after.
The infamous NSFW film featuring Kim Kardashian and her ex-boyfriend Ray J was initially leaked in the early aughts – allegedly without the reality star’s consent. On Hulu’s The Kardashians, there were indications that Ray J’s manager might still have more footage from it to release. Kardashian was heard at one point speaking to her lawyers that she was “99 percent sure” that no more footage actually existed. However, during the April 28 episode of the streaming series, it came out there was indeed something to the hoopla, but that Kanye West had swooped in to save such visuals from ever seeing the light of day. Kardashian, in fact, showed off the fruits of his labor to her family, revealing to them:
So Kanye flew home last night and he came back this morning, and I want to show you what he got me. He got me all of the sex tape back. And he flew home and got the computer it was on and the hard drive and [he met] Ray-J at the airport and got it all back for me.
It sounds very All The President’s Men: The Reality Show to me. But all things Deep Throat aside, the formerly married couple were indeed on relatively good enough terms at that time of The Kardashians' production for Kanye West to be taking on such a high-end favor for his to-be-ex-wife. Of course, they were still in the process of getting a divorce, but just a month prior to Sex Tape Gate 2.0, in August 2021, Kardashian had actually provided some wedding-themed publicity for his Donda album’s listening party. It's all cyclical.
Although, the 41-year-old had added in a confessional on her show that Kanye West was not just helping with the debacle for her sake. They also share their kids North, 8, Saint, 6, Chicago, 4, and Psalm, 2, together – and the rapper had them in mind as well with the situation. The less they have to deal with it all, the better .Specifically, Kim Kardashian said on The Kardashians:
I know Kanye did this for me, but he also did this for my kids. I want to shield them from as much as I can. And if I had the power to or if Kanye has the power to, like, that is just the most important thing to me. And I'm just so emotional because of it.
Nevertheless, the former couple's dynamic has somewhat shifted in more recent months. It eventually came out that Kim Kardashian was dating SNL alum Pete Davidson, and Kanye West had made it very evident on social media and diss tracks that he holds no love for the new romance. West also later lamented custody arrangements and best child-rearing practices in the midst of the then-ongoing divorce proceedings. All of which eventually culminated in a temporary Instagram suspension and a Grammy ban for the star that prompted him to supposedly end the online feud for good.
Kim Kardashian kept relatively silent during the majority of her ex’s later controversial commentary. But the Hulu headliner eventually decided to clap back against Kanye West’s insinuations about her as a mother. At one point, too, she essentially shut down his “narrative” about not being allowed to see the kids.
Yet, at the very least, Kim Kardashian got her full sex tape back out of the ordeal, which is not something that everyone can boast. And regardless of whether Kanye West was the one doing the legwork, the Skims CEO shared on The Kardashians that she isn’t going to be sex-shamed in this day and age about that video.
Keep up with new totally safe-for-work episodes of the streaming series airing every Thursdays for those with a Hulu subscription!
