Ray J stormed out of a live interview with YouTuber Lah Mike after he brought up, in a surprising turn of the conversation, the controversial sex tape with Kim Kardashian from 2007. The confrontation between them became increasingly tense second by second until Ray J just got up and left. Videos of that capture went viral since then, pitching debates between fans and online influencers.
The interview, reportedly done for $20,000, was supposed to be about his career and other business ventures he had embarked on. However, things took a dramatic turn when the infamous tape was brought up by Lah Mike. What started off casually turned into an argumentative conversation, with Ray J visibly uncomfortable as Lah Mike pressed him on how the tape shaped him and Kardashian’s public images. Moments later, Ray J stood up, removed his microphone and walked off the set without uttering a word, leaving Lah Mike in shock and the crew staring on.
The 2007 tape that bore the title Kim Kardashian, Superstar is arguably one of the most notorious scandals in the history of pop culture. It launched Kim Kardashian into the limelight and on her journey to becoming a reality TV star and business magnate. For Ray J, though, the tape proved a double-edged sword that brought him fame but at the same time a lifetime of controversy.
Ray J has spoken up several times over the years about how sick he is of being eternally connected with the tape. He has said several times that he’d like to move on; he’s trying to talk about music, tech ventures, and family life, but the public discourse always seems to end up on the sex scandal. This January, Ray J sued his former manager, claiming she was responsible for leaking the tape-a salvo in what seems to be his campaign to take ownership of his story.
Lah Mike is known for his candid interviews and no-holds-barred approach in dealing with controversial topics. Indeed, he has built a certain amount of his reputation upon this, stirring up controversies wherever he may go, even as that same knack has earned him a loyal audience base. It was this particular approach to the subject-the tape-that seemed to push a guest over the edge during the live show. “You know how these things work,” Lah Mike had said to him on the show, “now that you are in here, let us talk about the tape, which has really been the story that everyone wanted to hear”. This sparked off a very loud confrontation, leaving chaos on the set.
While some praised Lah Mike for daring to touch the elephant in the room, others felt it was a line he had crossed. This incident has done more to make Lah Mike seem like one of the most controversy-ridden faces of online media.
The aftermath of the walkout has created quite a stir on social media. Some fans sided with Ray J, praising him for walking away instead of discussing a topic he has repeatedly tried to move on from. “He’s done talking about it-let the man live,” one Twitter user wrote.
Others rose to Lah Mike’s defense, saying he was blunt. “If Ray J didn’t want to talk about it, why agree to the interview?” another commenter asked. Influencers also jumped into the fray, slamming the media for their obsession with the tape and suggesting the incident shows Ray J has never come to terms with his past.
Even seventeen years later, the Kim Kardashian, Superstar tape continues to be part of the public perceptions regarding Ray J. The actor did his best to change course in his career, trying hard not to be associated with scandal; but in the eyes of the great unwashed, scandal seemed ineluctably connected to the name Ray J. It is this that reminds Ray J of how impossible it was to move past that chapter he never asked for.
For Lah Mike, the walkout has cemented the interview as another viral success in his growing YouTube career. The moment raises questions about the ethics, too, of revisiting old controversies for clicks and views.
The Ray J-Lah Mike incident shows the post-effects the tape has on Ray J’s personal and professional life even today. While Kim Kardashian is able to make the story all about her and a form of empowerment, ultimately with lots of success, Ray J’s journey isn’t free of challenges even after years of the incident. Not really sure if he ever would get away from that shadow, the walk-off certainly meant to him that he was never going to allow people to define the narrative on his own story.