Photo: Sky Cinema / Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock
Why can't he just leave a good deed alone?
By Isaac Serna-Diez — Written on Jan 26, 2022
Kanye West just can’t seem to stay out of the spotlight and in the news recently regarding his ex-wife Kim Kardashian West.
West has been airing his thoughts on her new beau Pete Davidson, his new girlfriend Julia Fox, and all of the drama unfolding around the Kardashians and his kids.
Well, now there’s a new piece to add to the Hollywood Gossip Collection and that involves the infamous sex tape that Kardashian shot with rapper Ray J, and the implication of a second sex tape existing on a laptop somewhere.
Kanye West spoke about Kim Kardashian and Ray J's 'second tape' in a recent interview.
West has opened up about his involvement in returning the alleged tape to Kardashian but there are plenty of deeply troubling and misogynistic details of his story.
Ray J’s sex tape with Kardashian was leaked in 2007 and caused years of scandal, claims that it’s her only rise to fame, and constant jokes and belittling comments about the origins of her success.
Years and years later, the public had almost all but forgotten about the sex tape.
However, Kanye West is now claiming he returned the tape to Kim Kardashian.
In September, Ray J’s former manager, Wack 100, claimed that he had a copy of the second sex tape on the “Bootleg Kev” podcast and wanted to give it as a “gift” to West.
“All I know is Kanye, holla at me, bro,” he said. “We got part two on the laptop. Ain’t never been seen. We’d love for you to have it. It’d be a great personal, private NFT.”
West claims he retrieved this tape but fails to address how utterly disrespectful it is to Kim for him to be the one collecting it in the first place.
Why not call out how despicable it is for a man to only agree to give an intimate tape of a woman back to her husband? Or in this case soon-to-be-ex-husband!
Kanye adds to the betrayal of Kim's privacy by airing the story.
“I went and got the laptop from Ray J myself that night,” he said during the interview. “I met this man at the airport, then got on a red-eye, came back [and] delivered it to her at 8 a.m. in the morning.”
He continued, saying “She cried when she saw it. You know why she cried when she seen it on the laptop? Because it represents how much she’s been used. It represents how much people didn’t love her and they just saw her as a commodity.”
West is right here, the drama surrounding Kardashian's tape is indicative of the constant objectification she has faced in her career.
But, he's wrong if he thinks he's doing anything but adding to that issue. Once again, West is speaking for Kardashian on a topic that is not his to share.
He is dredging up a deeply personal experience and articulating it as if it was his own.
Then there is the fact that West might have exaggerated the entire story.
Both Kim Kardashian and Ray J have denied the existence of this 'second tape.'
Why Ray J’s former manager decided after 14 years that he would try to spark rumors back up about the previous scandal, who knows — well actually Kim’s attorney, Marty Singer, knows.
“The claim that there is an unreleased sex tape is unequivocally false,” he told Us Weekly in a statement. “It is unfortunate that people make these statements to try and get their 15 minutes of fame.”
Ray J told his former manager that the rumors “ain’t cool,” and criticized him for breaching his privacy.
“I been staying off the Raydar — Just staying focused and being humble and thankful for all the blessings I’m receiving. How can I show growth and maturity if this kind of stuff keeps happening?” the 40-year-old artist wrote.
“I’m a father now and my job is to be a great parent and put them first. This is not the message I want to send out – smh.”
Seems like West might be doing a little bit of projecting because, once again, these claims are being argued by yet another spokesperson from Kim’s team who spoke with Page Six about it.
“The computer and hard drive collected were supposed to contain the original video and any unseen footage. After review, there was nothing sexual unseen, only footage on the plane on the way to Mexico and footage at a club and restaurant on the same trip,” read the statement.
So, can we all — including Kanye West — stop bringing up Kim's tape?
The statement continued, saying “Kim remains firm in her belief that there is no new second tape that exists. After 20 years, she truly wishes to move on from this chapter [and] focus instead on the positive things she continues to do as a mother, entrepreneur, and advocate for justice reform.”
“The tape caused her a lot of pain and continues to haunt her to this day. Even though they are no longer together as a couple, they remain aligned with the same concerns about how this content that continues to be used against her will affect their four young kids in the future.”
Isaac Serna-Diez is a writer who focuses on entertainment and news, social justice, and politics. Follow him on Twitter here.