'Keeping Up With The Kardashians' Series Could End If Lamar Odom Releases Tell-All, Experts Say
In the wake of Lamar Odom's drug and cheating scandal, marketing and branding experts believe the next season of Keeping Up With The Kardashians will be its last.
Odom is seeking vengeance and might agree to write a Kardashian tell-about book that would earn him at least $5 million, InTouch Weekly reported recently. Radar Online published a report on Monday in which where several experts weighed in how much damage Odom's book would have on the Kardashian brand.
Branding and marketing expert Liz Goodgold is certain that "maintaining their brand image is paramount [right now]" in light of the negative publicity surrounding Khloe Kardashian's troubled marriage to Odom.
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She said if Odom released a tell-all, the "scope and scale of how they manipulate the media [would truly be] unveiled."
Jennifer Pozner, the author of Reality Bites Back: The Troubling Truth About Guilty Pleasure TV, agreed.
"It's been proven over and over that they're masters of business and masters of manipulation," Pozner said of the Kardashians and theri martriach Kris Jenner. "The expectation that anything that we see on TV about their relationships would be real is only the result of the fact that we don't teach media literacy in this country. People are starting to say, 'I think we're over it.' "
Even if there were a decline in ratings, because reality shows are affordable to produce, Pozner believes the network would offer a series to the youngest members of the Kardashian clan.
"E! is probably going to hold on as long as they can despite what the viewers want," possibly in the form of a spin-off show for Kylie and Kendall Jenner," she said.
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An insider told Naughty But Nice Rob in July that Kris Jenner did not want to renew her contract with the E! network for KUWTK when it expires. She would rather leave the show on "high note" leaving fans wanting more instead of renegotiating a new contract and watching the series "die a slow death," said the insider. Members of the Kardashian and Jenner clan are "moving on with their lives."
"[The Kardashians are] exploring new options and opportunities," the insider said. "Kim wants to be with her daughter and Kanye, while Kris wants to focus on being a talk show host and maybe start producing movies. She's telling everyone that one day she will have an Oscar."
Kris premiered her daytime talk show on July 15 on FOX in select markets nationwide. Her final episode ended its six-week run ended with an exclusive interview with rapper Kanye West on Aug. 23.
Odom has allegedly been struggling with a cocaine addiction as of late and prior to his 2009 marriage to Khloe. The NBA free agent admitted to past drug use in 2001 after he was suspended by the NBA twice for marijuana use when he played for the Los Angeles Clippers. He reportedly checked into rehab on Sept. 6 on the heels of his DUI arrest and rumors of him cheating on his wife. People cited two sources who said Odom entered a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center for treatment and checked out the following day
