Kim Kardashian and Ray J’s Sex Tape Made a Cool $1M in Just Six Weeks According to Newly Released Email
When Kim Kardashian and Ray J's infamous sex tape was released in 2007, it pulled in a ludicrous amount of
CELEB Magazine
When Kim Kardashian and Ray J's infamous sex tape was released in 2007, it pulled in a ludicrous amount of money in a short amount of time.
In recent days, Ray J has gone out of his way to pick a fight with Kardashian and her mom, Kris Jenner, blasting them on social media. Ray J and Kardashian dated 15 years ago, and he is now claiming that Jenner herself was involved in the release of the tape.
A newly released email obtained by TMZ shows that the film made a ridiculous amount of cash over just six weeks, and the timing casts Kardashian's recollection of events in doubt..
The Timeline Makes Kim Look Less Like a Victim and More Like a Mastermind
TMZ writes, "We've obtained an email from Vivid Entertainment honcho Steve Hirsch dated May 1, 2007, in which he informs Kim the tape made $1,424,636.63 in revenue, including the majority, $1,255,578.50, coming from DVD sales."
It's a staggering sum for a video Kardashian reportedly didn't even want to release – although Ray J claims that she and mom Jenner did want to release it.
TMZ continues, "It's interesting … the tape was released on March 14, 2007. Kim filed a lawsuit on February 21, 2007, against Vivid, claiming she didn't authorize the release of the tape. That case was dismissed — presumably, it was settled — April 27, 2007. Just 4 days later, Kim got the email from Vivid on sales numbers."
Over the weekend, Ray J spoke out on social media and says that Kardashian was never reluctant to begin with. In fact, she was pivotal to organizing the release. He claims that she signed on from the very start, even writing an inventory list of sex tapes.
Vivid's Steve Hirsch has also openly discussed the deal in the past, calling it a "difficult deal to get done" because Kim did not want the tape out. The tape had been released to an entertainment company on March 14th. The scene was reportedly shot in Cabo San Lucas, as they were away together. Kardashian’s lawsuit was then dismissed on April 27th and this was right before she had been informed of the sales figures.
But Hirsch and Kardashian's accounts don't match up with Ray J's allegations about the Kardashian/Jenner duo's involvement, and also doesn't align with the timeline the email reveals.
Another Tape
According to Ray J, Jenner looked at two sex tapes and chose which one ended up being released.
But – there's another one still out there that has yet to be released. This one was filmed in Santa Barbara. According to an episode of The Kardashians, Kardashian's ex-husband Kanye West retrieved the missing second video, but Ray J is calling shenanigans on the whole family and what he claims are their lies.
It's an interesting development that puts to question all the public knows about the original sex tape. Kardashian has repeatedly talked about how distressed she was in the wake of the video's release, and has tried to appear to distance herself from her reputation linked to the video.
But if she and Jenner were involved from the very beginning in releasing the tape, it changes things a bit – and Kardashian's reactions look more and more like an affectation to help drive up sales, which clearly worked.
Ray J promises he has receipts to prove everything, and they're coming out one at a time – making Kardashian and her mom look a little more calculating and a little less like victims.