Yahoo News Ray J Ponders Whether Sex Tape With Kim Kardashian Altered the Course of Humanity
As the wisdom The Hollywood Reporter just shared in late May goes, anyone who wants their career or name to go viral, must speak with former NFL player Shannon Sharpe on his podcast, Club Shay Shay. Well, it is happening again, this time with singer and one-time sex tape star Ray J, who took time to ponder the ripple effects of his sex tape with Kim Kardashian and waxed philosophical about humanity.
Ray J, who besides starring in the early-to-the-sex-tape-game encounter with Kardashian filmed in 2003 and released in 2007 is a musician who is now touting a new single, “Throwing Stacks.” But the former topic got the 43-year-old father of two thinking about the impact of the famous sex tape, dubbed Kim Kardashian, Superstar, which ultimately made the Kardashian family a household name.
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“How different would we all be?” Ray J asked, having been asked himself about life with no sex tape. “How different would this whole fucking thing be? How different would this industry be? Everything would be different. There might not be any OnlyFans and all the things like that. All the opportunities like that. Probably more people would be going to college.”
This led Ray J, who has been a featured player on VH1’s Love & Hip Hop and happens to be the younger brother of singer-actress Brandy, to become philosophical.
“Are we a part of the cure or [are] we a part of the disease?” he asked. “I don’t know. All I know is I’m trying to make it right.”
Ray J says that everything would be different if he didn't do the tape with Kim Kardashian
"…more people would be going to college… there might not be any OnlyFans… are we apart of the cure or are we apart of the disease…"
via Club Shay Shay pic.twitter.com/uKdpfsFR0y— SOUND (@itsavibe) June 5, 2024
Sharpe then asked Ray J if he is embarrassed today by the tape — which, even though he had a minorly successful singing career before its release, may be his most notable work. In an uncharacteristically earnest response, he says “Yes,” he is embarrassed, mostly for his children, Melody Love and son Epik Ray.
“I have kids now. Everything I did now when we have kids is just totally different. The whole thing is wacky. With my kids it’s not OK,” Ray J said.
The sex tape footage, aside from launching Kim Kardashian’s career into the stratosphere, has a winding saga of its own. After its release, Ray J stated that Kris Jenner played a part in orchestrating its release (a claim that Jenner vehemently denies) but years later, a plotline on The Kardashians had Kim learning that Ray J’s former manager, Wack 100, was threatening to release more footage.
A stressed-out Kardashian was at a loss about handling the situation — sobbing in a moment that likely was a deep low for her but also made for excellent reality TV. Her knight in shining armor arrived in the form of rapper-producer-fashion mogul Kanye West, who swept up all footage and delivered it to her in New York. All of this aired after Kardashian and West had divorced.
The kicker: None of the later footage contained a bit of nudity.
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