The Most Notorious Celebrity Sex Tapes of All Time
There's nothing bad, wrong, or dirty about a celebrity making a consensual sex tape. Unfortunately, sometimes those tapes get stolen or leaked. Here, the stories behind some of the most infamous videos you weren't meant to see. (And, no, we won't be linking to them.)
Kim Kardashian and Ray J
In 2007, Vivid Entertainment released "Kim Kardashian, Superstar," a 41-minute tape purchased from an unidentified third party for $1 million. Kim sued to prevent its release, but eventually settled for a rumored $5 million. "This tape, which was made three years ago, and was meant to be something private between myself and my then-boyfriend is extremely hurtful not only to me, but to my family as well," Kim told People at the time. "I am filing legal charges against the company who is distributing this tape since it is being sold completely without my permission or consent."
Vivid cochairman Steven Hirsch responded, "We are comfortable that we have the legal right to distribute this video, despite what others may say. We have been around for 20 years and if we didn’t feel comfortable putting it out, we wouldn’t. We would like Kim and Ray J to be a part of it and hopefully we can work that out."
Speaking to Oprah in 2012, Kim said she wasn't "naive to the fact" that she was "introduced to the world" via her sex tape, and that since it was a "negative" introduction, she had to work "ten times harder to get people to see the real [Kim]."
She also addressed rumors that she leaked the sex tape herself. "Why would anyone put that humiliation on their family like that?" she said.
In his 2016 book Kardashian Dynasty, Ian Halperin claimed that Kris Jenner orchestrated the whole thing, quoting an insider who said, "It was Kris who engineered the deal behind the scenes and was responsible for the tape seeing the light of day." She, too, has denied having anything to do with the sale of the tape.
Paris Hilton and Rick Salomon
"I feel embarrassed and humiliated, especially because my parents and the people who love me have been hurt," Hilton told the Associated Press after the release of her sex tape in 2003. "I was in an intimate relationship and never, ever thought that these things would become public."
The release of the tape via the Seattle-based company Marvad Corp. was followed by several lawsuits: according to People, Salomon filed a $10 million suit against the company for distributing the footage without the legal rights, and Marvad filed a breach of contract suit against Salomon's roommate, claiming - per People - that the roommate "misled the company into believing he owned the rights to the video." According to People, Salomon also filed a $10 million slander suit against Hilton, her parents and publicist, claiming their response to the tape suggested he had non-consensual sex with Hilton. (His suit against Hilton was later dropped.)
Hilton did not sue Salomon, but she did file a $30 million invasion of privacy lawsuit against Kahatani Ltd., a Panama-based Internet company that distributed the video, which was later dismissed.
Salomon eventually sold the tape himself to Red Light District Video, where it got the infamous name One Night in Paris. It's been reported that Hilton collected a percentage of the profits as well as a $400,000 payment, but she claims she's "never made a dollar" off the tape.
"I wish I had never met him," Hilton told Marie Claire of Salomon in August 2017." That is actually the one regret in my life. I wish that I had never met that guy. I could not leave my house for months. I was so depressed, humiliated. I didn't want to be seen in public."
Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee
Perhaps the most infamous celebrity sex tape of all time, this 1996 video was stolen by the couple's disgruntled electrician. From there, a member of the Italian mob paid $50,000 to cover manufacturing and distribution of the tape over the Internet, the idea being he'd get a cut of the sales - but a wave of copycat websites upended the business plan. With the video spreading fast, Anderson and Lee filed a $10 million civil lawsuit against everyone they thought might have a copy of the tape.
They got nowhere legally until the tape made its way to 25-year-old Internet whizkid Seth Warshavsky. After a judge refused to issue an injunction that would keep him from airing the video on his site Club Love, Anderon and Lee decided to settle. From there, Warshavsky cut a deal with Steven Hirsch, owner of Vivid Entertainment, to manufacture VHS, DVD and CD-ROM copies. Though there are rumors that Anderson and Lee cut a deal of their own to share in profits made off the video, both deny ever making money off the tape.
Jennifer Lopez and Ojani Noa
For years, Lopez's ex-husband of eleven months shopped an intimate video of life with his ex-wife, reportedly including nudity and private footage from their honeymoon (so this one's not quite a "sex tape"), that he called "How I Married Jennifer Lopez: The J.Lo and Ojani Noa Story." The video was reportedly in violation of the confidentially agreement he signed after his separation from Lopez, and her lawyers fought its release accordingly. As of 2011, the tape was literally locked up by the court in a safe deposit box.
Colin Farrell and Nicole Narain
Farrell and Playboy model Nicole Narain dated in 2003 and recorded a 14-minute sex tape. A couple years later, the tape was released and, according to People, Farrell accused Narain of "trying to distribute the tape through an intermediary," which she denied. "I try not to let too many things get to me, but this is definitely stressful," she said of the claims in 2005. "I really would like my name to be cleared. I have nothing to do with this."
Farrell and Narain reached an "amicable settlement" in 2006, though the terms remained confidential.
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