Khloé Kardashian is sharing her side of the story after facing backlash for appearing in Lamar Odom’s new documentary, Untold: The Death & Life of Lamar Odom.
“Do people think I just like talking about this all day long? F*** no. It’s traumatic, I have to relive things. I have to talk about things that weren’t fun in my life,” Kardashian, 41, said on the Wednesday, April 15, episode of the “Khloé in Wonderland” podcast. “So it’s like, ‘No, I don’t just feel like doing this.’”
Kardashian explained that she was asked by Odom’s team whether she would participate in the documentary, which was released by Netflix in March and detailed his overdose and their relationship. (Kardashian and Odom, now 46, were married from 2009 until she filed for divorce in 2013. Kardashian later postponed her court motion amid Odom’s health scare, and the pair officially divorced in 2016.)
“I was contemplating because I’m like, ‘I don’t know if I want to do that.’ Also, I wanted to make sure it was handled in the best way. I said, ‘I want to make sure this is a positive piece. I don’t really want to go down this road if it’s negative. He’s been through enough negative s***. Let’s turn the tune here.’ Everyone was like, ‘No, it’s amazing, it’s going to be really positive. He’s the one doing it, he’s the one asking,’” Kardashian recalled. “I’m like, ‘OK, cool.’ Netflix then was like, ‘We can’t finish it without you. You’re a big chapter.’ Sure, get that. I [willingly] do the Netflix thing for Lamar.”
She continued, “I’m not getting paid one penny to do this. I have no dog in this fight. It doesn’t matter to me if this documentary is made or not made. I don’t care. And it’s also not something I really want to talk about anymore. … It wasn’t the best time of my life. I had best-time moments, but it’s not like, ‘Let’s rehash the dark stuff all over again.’”
Kardashian noted that she understands why people have wanted to ask her about Odom, but she noted that “at some point, I’m over it.”
“That chapter is done. I’m good. He’s good. We’re good. To do this, though, what turned me was Netflix reaching out again saying they can’t finish it without me,” she explained. “I didn’t want to do that to Lamar. So I was like, ‘OK, he deserves this.’”
Kardashian shared that she wanted to get “on the same page” as Odom before she spoke, noting that pal Malika Haqq reached out to her ex on her behalf. Odom, however, allegedly “wouldn’t respond.” Haqq, 43, claimed that by the time Odom did respond, “[the interview] was done.”
“We were like, ‘Hey, Khloé is going to do the interview. She wants to talk to you prior.’ Crickets. Nothing. All good. Which we have in writing, by the way,” Kardashian said, to which Haqq replied, “Receipts.”
Kardashian went on to clarify that a producer for the documentary asked her questions during the interview, noting that she’s not an executive producer and has “no involvement” aside from sharing her perspective.
“How would the producer know to ask me certain things if they’re not given by Lamar’s team or they do research? If the guy is like, ‘Hey, so I heard this thing happened in Vegas, why don’t you tell me about that?’ I’m going to be like, ‘OK, I’m going to tell you that story, because somehow you know the f***ing story.’ So I’m just doing exactly what the producer is asking of me,” Kardashian said, noting that she hadn’t seen the documentary in full until it came out.
While Haqq noted that she didn’t understand the takeaway from the documentary, Kardashian added that she’s “confused” by the message as well.
“Your overdose was 11 years ago. You’re telling me that you have nothing to show for anything at the end of your documentary. You couldn’t show after the last 11 years your sobriety journey. … [It] has nothing to do with me. If there was nothing positive to show at the end, that’s on you,” she said. “You are ending it as making a joke, ‘Come with me to Vegas and get married,’ or whatever he said to the camera crew. Everything is a joke to you, you’re not accountable for anything.”
Kardashian noted that it’s “pissing [her] off” that Odom is doing press and seeming “annoyed” with her, “insinuating” that she’s a “liar” and “discrediting” her by saying she wasn’t “the one who helped him.”
“For years, he was singing my praises, all this. I don’t even need you to sing my praises. But you’re not now going to s*** on me or now play in my face because you don’t like the reaction and the response from the public,” she said.
Kardashian added that she kept her side of the story to herself for more than a decade until she was asked by Odom to participate in the documentary.
“I did it for him,” she said of her decision to appear in the film. “His team — whoever provided those questions to the producer — had to be someone that knew these things. That’s how they knew to ask me those questions. They don’t just happen. So I answered the questions and then I even said when I left, ‘Lamar can take out anything he doesn’t like ’cause I don’t care. Take out what you don’t want in there. That is your choice, this is your show.’”
“First of all, I don’t care. You don’t have to give me credit for anything. I don’t want the credit. All I did was tell the story that I was asked by you to tell. But now, to play in my face. And now, to act like I didn’t do any of the things I did and insinuate that I’m a liar, is crazy,” she continued, adding that she feels “played.”
While Kardashian noted that Odom said he didn’t watch the doc, she said her ex-husband “loves” to watch himself.
“You’re telling me that you have a documentary for yourself and you’re trying to say publicly that you never saw it? Boy, please. Let’s not,” Kardashian alleged. “I just think he wasn’t expecting this response and now he’s trying to sort of slander me a little bit, which frustrates me.”
Kardashian went on to question Odom’s statement that he “married [her] for fame,” noting that she thought the pair loved each other.
“I feel so dumb, I spent hours and time doing this documentary as a favor. I’m not paid one penny,” she said.
Kardashian shared that she’s “pissed that I’m even involved,” noting that she hasn’t told “90 percent” of the stories she has. She also added that she “let go” of the “blow-up sex doll” Odom made a couple years ago, which she thought was “the most sociopathic thing.”
“How violating, how gross, what is wrong with you?” she said, wondering whether Odom does things for “fame” or “attention.”
She continued, “The amount of messages that I’m getting. Everyone is, like, shocked — like, how did the tune change so much? I think it’s changed just because he’s seeing the response and now he’s like, ‘Oh, I’m going to attack her because she’s getting so much love.’”
Odom made headlines earlier this month when he appeared on an episode of the Today show and Jenna Bush Hager noted that Kardashian “stood by” his side and “saved” his life, to which he replied, “In some ways. God saved my life. My lord saved my life, honestly.”
“A lot of us were saying, ‘She rode hard for you,’” Sheinelle Jones told Odom, who admitted that Kardashian “took care” of him. He added, “But God took care of me the most. What I came back from is like a medical miracle.”
If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).
