Khloe Kardashian released a bombshell on how rough things were while her ex-husband, Lamar Odom, had been holding on to life. Appearing on her reality television show The Kardashians recently, Khloe reported that Joe Odom, Lamar’s dad, had wanted to have him taken off life support. At the same time, he had been comatose—presumably to collect on his life insurance money.
Khloe recounted how painful it had been to watch Lamar battle to remain alive in 2015 after finding him unconscious at a brothel in Nevada. The former basketball star had had a nearly life-threatening overdose that had brought on countless heart attacks and strokes. Doctors were not sure that he would survive. Despite everything that had transpired between them, Khloe had stayed by his bedside, putting her life on hold to take care of him.
“I lived there for four months, I got a staph infection from spending that amount of time there.”
However, amid emotional distress, Khloe claimed that Joe Odom had attempted to intervene—neither compassionately nor out of financial interest.
Joe Odom struggled with heroin addiction for years, and his relationship with Lamar had always been rocky. Lamar has previously shared that he was mostly raised by his grandmother because his father was absent from his life. Over the years, they tried to mend their relationship, but Khloe’s latest revelation paints a disturbing picture of the ongoing family drama.
According to Khloe, Joe Odom demanded that physicians take life support off of Lamar, allegedly to benefit his son’s life insurance. The announcement surprised most fans, given how strained Lamar’s relationship had been with his dad. Lamar had gone on record speaking of how his dad had never been there for him and had credited only the Kardashian clan as his actual support system.
Her mother, Kris Jenner, and sister, Kim Kardashian, also played key roles in supporting Lamar. The former NBA star suffered six heart attacks and 12 strokes after his near-fatal overdose at a Nevada brothel. Many thought he wouldn’t survive, but Khloe never gave up on him.
During the episode, Lamar seemed unwilling to talk about the claims point-blank but acknowledged Khloe’s unflinching endorsement.
“The person that was that coma. I have no clue if he had any awareness of what happened,”
He admitted. But he also had kind words of thanks to give to Khloe, saying,
“She wiped my behind. I don’t actually remember her doing that, but I know that I wasn’t able to do that on my own. Who else were there?”
Lamar’s relationship with his dad never lasts very well. Lamar defended the Kardashians on social media in 2013 by labeling them his “ONLY FAMILY” after accusing his dad of his issues. Joe Odom had accused the Kardashians of ruining Lamar’s life by asking him to divorce Khloe. But Lamar hit back by detailing that his dad had been around most of the time but that the Kardashians had cared for him.
Even in 2015, Joe Odom accused the Kardashian clan of keeping him out of seeing his son after Lamar had been hospitalized. It got messy and convoluted, adding tension to what had already been a sad situation.
Lamar has since opened up about his struggles with addiction and his near-fatal overdose. In a 2017 essay, he expressed disbelief at Khloe’s loyalty during his hospitalization.
“After all the s— I had done, I was surprised to see her,” he wrote.
In recent interviews, Lamar claimed that drugs were slipped into his drink on the night of his overdose, which led to the medical emergency. He has described himself as a “walking miracle” and continues to share his journey of recovery with the world.
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Although Lamar has developed well on his recovery journey, his past continues to haunt him. His substance abuse struggles, death scares, and domestic challenges have characterized his life in ways that he never expected.
Khloe is also proud of how she stood by Lamar but admits that she learned things along the way.
“I used to think that I could save people,” she admitted. But addiction is a disease, and only you can save yourself.”
