The Ongoing Saga of the Kardashian Sex Tape: A Never-Ending Controversy

The introduction to Sky's new three-part docuseries, "House of Kardashian," immediately highlights one of its central talking points. Joe Francis, the founder of the Girls Gone Wild empire and a close friend of the Kardashian-Jenner clan, asserts, "The sex tape was a means to an end, it was to create a controversy."

Most people recognize the reference to the intimate footage of Kim Kardashian and her then-boyfriend, Ray J, which was recorded in 2003, surfaced online in 2007, and played a pivotal role in catapulting the family name into stardom. The perennial question of whether it was leaked or released has been asked so frequently that it might as well be listed alongside the great unsolved mysteries of the universe.

Beyond its impact on the family's fame and fortune, the sex tape has been used as a constant source of criticism and gendered insults aimed at Kim Kardashian, who is now a 42-year-old billionaire businesswoman and a mother of four. However, the toll it has taken on her mental health has received less attention.

In a world increasingly conscious of the past's misogynistic cruelty, where women were often objectified, sexualized, and slut-shamed, we've come to understand and empathize with figures like Britney Spears and Amy Winehouse. We've even reassessed our perspectives on comedians like Russell Brand. Yet, for some reason, Kim Kardashian remains a target of constant scrutiny. Is it because her story hasn't ended tragically, because she refused to retreat from the public eye, or because she has monetized her appearance?

One reason may lie in the fact that the Kardashians are famous for selling their lives as a modern American fairytale. This includes launching "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" just weeks after the sex tape surfaced, capitalizing on their name's notoriety. In the immediate aftermath, Kim and a tearful Kris Jenner were interviewed by Oprah, where Kardashian responded to rumors of her approving the tape's release by asking, "Why would anyone put that humiliation on their family?"

Just last year, false rumors of unreleased footage led to Kim's tearful plea on "The Kardashians," as she cried, "I have four kids; I can't go through this again." Kris even took an on-screen lie detector test to refute claims that she had orchestrated the tape's release. Ray J joined the conversation, asserting that the family had been lying all these years.

The family has certainly laid it all out there and kept it there, but another perspective is that they have been striving to reclaim their narrative. Kim Kardashian, speaking about the tape, expressed, "For 20 years, this has been held over my head. I'm just human." In 2016, she penned an essay criticizing those who had slut-shamed her and explained, "I lived through the embarrassment and fear; I shouldn't have to constantly be on the defense."

Regrettably, "House of Kardashian" doesn't wholly unravel the tape's truth. The documentary offers little more than opinions from a string of Hollywood men, many of whom have profited from commodifying women's bodies. Their voices often contradict one another.

According to Joe Francis, the tape was "leaked by them together," meaning Kim and Ray J, but he deems it "ludicrous" to suggest Kris Jenner played a role. Celebrity agent David Weintraub, who represented Paris Hilton in the Noughties, indicates that once the couple decided to make the tape, "Kim told Ray that they must allow Kris to negotiate the deal." He concludes with a flourish, stating, "The actual truth is starting to come out, finally."

But is it? None of the Kardashian family members appear in the docuseries, except for Caitlyn Jenner, presumably with their consent. Much attention has been given to a clip in which Caitlyn suggests that stepdaughter Kim was calculated from the beginning, pondering how to become famous. This, however, isn't evidence of anything, considering that most famous people strategically plan their rise to fame.