It’s no secret that the release of Kim Kardashian and Ray J’s sex tape changed the lives of the KarJenner family. The sex tape is a major topic of conversation in the new House of Kardashian documentary, which is now available on Peacock.
Executive producer and talent manager David Weintraub gives insight into Ray J and Kim’s relationship and the sex tape situation. David is Ray J’s manager and producing partner. “Ray J and Kim were in love,” David says in the documentary. “Ray was obsessed with Kim, and Kim was obsessed with Ray. This was a loving, crazy, young love relationship.”
David reveals that Ray J urged Kim to “be at the same exact level” as Paris Hilton when Kim began organizing Paris’ closet. “Kim learned everything from Paris. Kim was watching from the background. She was fame-adjacent at that moment,” David says.
David was a talent agent at UTA and grew up with the Spellings, Hiltons, and Kardashians. He was also Paris’ first agent. As Paris’ fame continued to grow, especially after her sex tape’s release, Ray J and Kim had their own aspirations.
“Ray and Kim said to each other, if we had one [a sex tape], it’s gonna be a million times bigger,” David recalls. “And that was just something they started to think about and think about.”
He continues, “I think that there is a truth that is the actual truth, which is starting to really come to light finally.” During a “wild” birthday trip to Mexico, David reveals “Ray and Kim filmed a lot of stuff.” He adds, “This was glossy and beautiful and private jets and hotel suites. Ray J and Kim agreed that they wanted to try to distribute the sex tape to market both of their careers. At that moment, Kim told her mother, her most trusted confidant, ‘We may do this thing. It might be nuts but, hey, maybe this can be utilized at our discretion to actually be a tool that can catapult not only me, our family, and this business to the next level.’”
David thinks that “Kris knew that if the tape was released properly and marketed properly, it would open up every door that you could imagine. My recollection of how Kris Jenner managed the deal is that Kim told Ray that they must allow Kris to negotiate the deal and that she didn’t want anyone else involved. No other lawyers and that the only way to get this tape released is if it would happen under that pre-context to protect Kim.”
The manager notes in the documentary that he “strongly” believes “Kris Jenner’s relationship with Joe Francis was a big door opener to make this a viable product and actually something that she was willing to broker on Kim and Ray’s behalf.”
The sex tape, Kim Kardashian, Superstar, was released in 2007. Rumors have swirled for years that Kris and Kim leaked the sex tape, but they have denied the accusations. “I believe that Kris thought that at that time the best narrative to market this sex tape was for everybody to believe that it was leaked,” David says.
In the wake of the sex tape’s release, Kim became a household name. Keeping Up With the Kardashians got the greenlight in 2007 and catapulted the family to stardom. “They got their dreams accomplished,” David notes. “Now was there a little bit of sex and nudity involved? Yeah. But you’re not living in 1955. You’re living in a world of controversy.”