Thought you already knew everything there was to know about The Kardashians? Think again. Sky TV’s new documentary House of Kardashian has done a deep dive into the Kardashian-Jenner clan and revealed a whole lot of detail about the iconic dynasty, including rumours surrounding Kim Kardashian and Ray J’s sex tape.
In 2007, a 27-year-old Kim Kardashian and her then boyfriend rapper Ray J aka Ray Norwood were involved in a sex tape scandal, released by Vivid Entertainment. For years, Kim and Ray J were accused of leaking the sex tape themselves, allegedly part of a mastermind plan to boost Kim Kardashian and her family’s profile, mirroring the career trajectory of her BFF Paris Hilton.
As well as having incredible access to Caitlyn Jenner – who denies any knowledge of the tape - House of Kardashian spoke to Joe Francis, the creator of Girls Gone Wild, who claims to be the man behind the release of Kim Kardashian and Ray J’s sex tape.
‘The sex tape was not about doing the sex tape - it was a means to an end,' he says in the documentary. 'It was to create a controversy, to get this thing out and to get Kim’s name out. This was the first celebrity interracial sex tape... There’s nothing like controversy to create an empire.'
‘It was leaked by them, they were a consenting couple,' he alleges. 'They had to create the narrative to make it salacious. If two people go “Hey, here’s my sex tape - I’m going to put it on the internet everybody watch” nobody wants to see it. But if you say it’s not supposed to be seen, people want to see it. That then says “Hey, I’m not somebody that actually signed on the dotted line” so it kind of eases up their ownership in it.’
Whilst claiming that Kim Kardashian and Ray J were in on the plan, Joe Francis denied that Kris Jenner had any involvement in the sex tape’s release. Kim Kardashian has denied ever leaking the tape, as has Ray J. In 2022, he told The Daily Mail, 'I’ve never leaked anything. I have never leaked a sex tape in my life. It has never been a leak.'
Ray J has accused Kim and Kris of leaking the tape in the past, but in September 2022, Kris took a lie detector test on The Late Late Show with James Cordon in which she denied being involved - and passed the test.
Francis confirmed Kris was not involved, saying: ‘Kris Jenner wasn’t involved in brokering her daughter’s sex tape. But yeah, my role was doing the whole thing, meetings took place in my office, every signature was done in my office...I’ll tell you what bugs me the most. That somehow her mum Kris Jenner was involved in this process. It’s just ludicrous.’
Now obviously, these are all unproven allegations from Joe Francis’, both Kim Kardashian and Kris Jenner have consistently categorically denied their involvement, even going on Oprah Winfrey’s show to state that the sex tape was released without their knowledge.
Plus, House of Kardashian interviewed another individual called David Weintraub – a producer and former friend of the Kardashian family and of Ray J – who slightly disagreed with Joe Francis’ account of the sex tape’s release.
He claimed, ‘Ray J and Kim said that they wanted to try and market the sex tape to try and elevate both of their careers. At that moment, Kim told her mother, trusted confidante, “We may do this thing, it might be nuts, but maybe this can be utilised at our discretion and actually be a tool that can catapult not only me, our family and this business to the next level.
‘I think that Kris knew that if the tape was released properly and marketed properly it would open up more than you could imagine. I strongly believe that Kris Jenner’s relationship with Joe Francis was a big door opener to make this a viable product... I believe that at the time Kris thought that the best way to market this sex tape was for somebody to believe that it was leaked.’
We still have plenty of questions, as we’re sure do you...
Did Kim and Ray J plan to leak their sex tape?
According to both Joe Francis and David Weinraub in House of Kardashian, the answer is yes. However, both parties have categorically denied ever being involved in a leak.
How did Kim Kardashian’s sex tape get released?
Kim and Ray J’s sex tape was released in 2007 by Vivid Entertainment – an adult entertainment company owned by Steven Hirsch, a pal of Joe Francis.
Who is Joe Francis?
Joe Francis is the creator of the Girls Gone Wild entertainment brand – an adult entertainment franchise - creating the company in 1997. Prior to that Joe worked as an assistant producer on Real TV - an American reality programme that aired footage of extraordinary events.
In 2013, Joe Francis was convicted of battery, assault, intimidation of a witness, and false imprisonment, after an incident involving three women outside a nightclub in Los Angeles. Francis was sentenced to 270 days in jail and a year’s probation. In March 2015, Francis was also sentenced to 336 days in jail after pleading no contest to child abuse and prostitution charges.
How did Joe Francis meet Kim Kardashian?
Joe Francis actually met Kim Kardashian through her older sister Kourtney Kardashian, who he dated briefly in 2005.
What is Joe Francis’ net worth?
Joe Francis reportedly has a net worth of $25 million.
Is Joe Francis still friends with the Kardashians?
In House of Kardashian, Joe Francis claims that the Kardashian family are aware of his involvement with the documentary and support his decision, although he does become uncomfortable when questioned further.