Lamar Odom Calls Out Khloe Kardashian’s Claim That She Saved His Life

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Lamar Odom is reflecting on a difficult time in his life. 

After his documentary about his life and near-fatal overdose aired, former NBA player Lamar Odom is minimizing the impact ex-wife Khloe Kardashian had on the situation following the 2015 incident at a Nevada brothel.

On April 6th, during an interview on Today With Jenna & Sheinelle, Jenna Bush Hager asked Lamar Odom if he believed Khloe Kardashian had saved his life.

“In some ways,” the 46-year-old replied. “God saved my life. My lord saved my life, honestly.”

Jenna and Sheinelle Jones pointed out that Khloe had filed for divorce from Lamar after six years of marriage, just before he experienced serious health problems. Despite the divorce filing, she remained supportive during his recovery, which involved six heart attacks, twelve strokes, and a three-day coma.

Lamar acknowledged that someone cared for him, but emphasized that God’s care was the greatest. He described his recovery as a remarkable medical achievement, almost unbelievable.

The former Laker also disagreed with Khloe’s statement in the documentary. Khloe had said that Lamar’s father, Joe Odom, was already at the hospital in Nevada and prepared to remove Lamar from life support when she got there.

Lamar said he was unconscious at the time the statement was supposedly made. He doesn’t believe Joe Odom would ever say something like that, as Odom was a strong supporter of his, and he’s unsure how the statement was attributed to Odom.

He added, “I just can’t see him ever, ever doing that.”

Although Lamar and Khloe haven’t been close since their divorce was finalized in 2016, they did come together on The Kardashians in 2025 when he visited her house to pick up some personal belongings.

Honestly, hearing Lamar talk about it, the whole situation was pretty uncomfortable for him. But he made it clear that, despite everything, family is family. She’s stuck with him, and he’s stuck with her – that bond just doesn’t break, no matter what.

Still, he didn’t expect the two would ever get back together romantically. 

“I will always have love for her,” he said, “but being in love, no.”

TopMob News has reached out to a rep for Khloe for comment but has not heard back.

In his Netflix documentary, Khloe shared how she became Lamar’s primary caregiver after his overdose. She spent almost four months at the hospital with him, and then helped him get back on his feet by renting a house nearby and hiring both a caretaker and a chef to support him.

As the 41-year-old explained, “We were going to rehabilitate him.”

But the plan quickly changed when she stopped by his house in May 2016 and caught him using drugs. 

Khloe explained that once you’ve smelled crack cocaine, you’ll never forget it. She described it as a uniquely awful and unmistakable odor.

She recalled trying to “be as stealth as possible” and “see what the f–k this guy’s doing.”

Oh my god, I can still see it so clearly. She was telling me how she crept up the stairs, and there he was, just sitting on the edge of the bed, smoking crack! It was awful. And she just…lost it. She punched him, apparently. She was screaming about how she’d stopped everything, put her whole life on hold, just to take care of him, and she couldn’t believe he’d gotten involved with that stuff. She kept saying he didn’t even have a phone, how could he be getting drugs? It was just…heartbreaking and terrifying all at once. I’ve replayed it in my head a million times.

However, Lamar did have a working phone, which Khloe found out after the fact. She realized he had been manipulating her so she would continue to support his lifestyle. She told him he needed to move out by Monday, stating she would no longer financially support him and didn’t want any further contact.

The duo’s divorce was finalized in December of that year. 

For a look at all the revelations from Untold: The Death & Life of Lamar Odom, keep reading. 

Khloe and Lamar first met in 2009 at a party Khloe hosted. The party was thrown by Lamar’s Los Angeles Lakers teammate, Ron Artest, who later changed his name to Metta World Peace.

Khloe admitted in the Netflix documentary Untold: The Death & Life of Lamar Odom that she hadn’t met Lamar Odom before the party where they first connected. She explained she likely took the job because her brother, Rob Kardashian – a big Lakers fan – was really enthusiastic about it.

Lamar, recently crowned a champion with the Lakers, revealed in the documentary that he initially didn’t recognize Khloe. He confessed that he was attracted to her from the start, saying, ‘To be honest, I tried to hook up with her that first night.’ However, she wasn’t interested, telling him it wasn’t that kind of gathering. They eventually connected the next day, and their relationship quickly progressed from there.

Just weeks after meeting, he proposed with a nine-carat diamond ring. They married on September 27, 2009, only a month after their first encounter.

I consider myself a pretty rational person,” Khloe shared. “But I get why people were skeptical and questioning if our relationship was genuine. We were planning a wedding in just 30 days – that’s really fast!

As Lamar put it, “You gotta have a gut feeling” and “some big balls.”

I’ve followed Lamar’s story for years, and it’s heartbreaking to think about everything he’s been through. He and Liza Morales were together practically since high school, growing up together in Queens. They had two beautiful children, Destiny and L.J., and seemed so happy. But then tragedy struck – their six-month-old son, Jayden, passed away from SIDS in 2006. It was devastating, and sadly, that loss ultimately led to them splitting up. It’s just a really sad story.

In her memoir, Untold, Liza wrote that when Lamar texted her to say he was marrying Khloe, her first thought was that he must be kidding.

Lamar explained in his statement that people attempted to discourage him from getting married. He also said the mother of his children prevented their attendance at his wedding.

L.J. later enjoyed receiving Christmas gifts from Khloe and her mother, Kris Jenner. However, at the time, he admitted he hadn’t even met Kris and didn’t think his father had told him he was marrying her, as he shared in the documentary.

Destiny, who is 27, explained in the document that if someone wants a big wedding with lots of guests and cameras, that’s perfectly fine and their choice.

The reality show Khloe & Lamar first aired on April 10, 2011, on TopMob. It felt like a logical extension of Keeping Up With the Kardashians, which had already led to other spin-offs like Khloe & Kourtney Take Miami and Kourtney & Kim Take New York.

But that was not Khloe’s idea, according to the now 41-year-old.

According to the documentary, the show Khloe & Lamar was heavily influenced by Lamar. Khloe felt stretched too thin and was worried about damaging the family’s reputation, which was built around Keeping Up with the Kardashians. She questioned whether a new show was a good idea, reminding Lamar of his priority—playing for the Lakers—and asked if he was certain he wanted to pursue it.

Khloé explained that filming Keeping Up With The Kardashians let her move around and avoid constant public attention. She was initially a bit worried about a new show being filmed in their home constantly, but she wanted to support her partner, who was really enthusiastic about the idea.

Destiny said of her dad, “He did love Khloe, but he’d wanted to be on reality TV for a long time.”

As Lamar explained in the document, he agreed to participate fully, saying, ‘If I’m going to marry you, I want to be involved in everything too.’

Liza remembered in the documentary that after the Lakers won their second consecutive NBA championship in 2010, her children skipped school to go to the celebratory parade in downtown Los Angeles.

When they arrived at his home, they received a call saying their father wasn’t responding, even though they knew he was inside.

“We were knocking on the door and there was nothing,” Destiny said, “it was just silence.”

Liza mentioned that Lamar’s friend called, explaining he wasn’t feeling up to attending the parade after a night out and didn’t want his kids to see him that way. Although he was hesitant, his trainer insisted he participate, and his children ultimately watched him from home on television.

“They were just heartbroken,” Liza shared. Destiny added that being rejected by a parent is incredibly painful and can really hinder someone’s growth. “There are certain moments you just can’t shake,” she said. “Now it makes sense – I found out he was struggling with partying and substance use at the time.”

Khloe admitted that, surprisingly, Lamar’s early cocaine use seemed handled responsibly, according to the documentary.

She remembered he went missing about two years after they started, sometime in June. She honestly worried something terrible had happened to him.

Khloe explained that he had been struggling because June is the month of Jayden’s death anniversary. She said it made her realize he was going through something completely new and difficult, and she didn’t know how to help.

Lamar, who is now 46, explained in the documentary that he believes he’s forgotten many stories from that period of his life due to his circumstances at the time.

He wondered aloud how someone could even contemplate cheating on their wife, saying, “What kind of person would do something like that?” He then questioned how someone could publicly commit to marrying someone on television and then be unfaithful.

Khloe remembered the night she found out about Lamar’s infidelity. Although she’d had her doubts, she hadn’t had any proof until a woman called her with a shocking message. The woman bluntly told Khloe, ‘I’m having an affair with your husband. He’s a mess, constantly asking for money and drugs, and I want out. Can you please come get him?’

Khloe remembers that Lamar would often leave rehab – sometimes for 12 hours, sometimes for a couple of days – and then go on a drug-fueled spree. She spent her time desperately searching for him, finding him in back alleys or cheap motels. He’d leave behind drug paraphernalia, like pieces of aluminum foil or spoons, wherever he went.

She explained she constantly had to tidy hotel rooms after him, fearing housekeeping staff would leak details to the press. She admitted she unknowingly helped him by covering things up, feeling obligated to protect him and maintain a semblance of control.

Lamar’s drug use became extremely heavy after he was traded to the Dallas Mavericks in December 2011, according to her.

The following summer, Lamar was traded back to the L.A. Clippers, the team that originally drafted him in 1999.

After the 2012-2013 season, things took a really dark turn. He started using drugs heavily again, and it was terrifying. There were multiple overdoses, and I actually had to help save his life a few times by pumping his stomach – all in secret, of course. We even tried to create safe spaces for him to detox at home, doing absolutely everything we could to help him get better.

Khloe told Lamar he had a choice: get three months of rehab, or she would file for divorce. An intervention specialist advised her to deliver this ultimatum.

Khloe remembered people telling her he would never admit he wanted a divorce. During an intervention, after she spoke, he surprisingly said he just wanted his passport and was ready to move forward with the divorce, saying, ‘Let’s get the divorce.’

Lamar recalled that right after finalizing his divorce in 2015, he desperately wanted to relapse into drug use, saying he needed cocaine but didn’t have any.

Living in Las Vegas at the time, he ended up at the Love Ranch, a legal brothel in Crystal, Nev.

Lamar pointed out how remarkable it is that even a small choice can have a huge impact, not just on your own life, but on the lives of those you care about most.

On October 13, 2015, Lamar was discovered unconscious at the Love Ranch. According to the Nye County sheriff, witnesses reported he had used cocaine in the days leading up to the incident and had taken ten doses of a drug intended to improve sexual performance since arriving at the ranch.

Before the release of Untold, Lamar explained to Sports Illustrated that although he later tested positive for cocaine, he hadn’t established a source for it in Las Vegas and hadn’t used any cocaine on the day of or leading up to the event.

In an interview with USA Today, he firmly denied bringing cocaine to the brothel, explaining he was upset about recently signing divorce papers. He admitted he’d briefly imagined going to the brothel with cocaine as a way to cope, but that didn’t happen.

Khloe said she simply screamed when her sister, Kim Kardashian, told her that Lamar had overdosed.

When Khloe arrived at the hospital, she said Lamar’s father, Joe Odom, who passed away in 2021, was preparing to remove him from life support. Khloe told Joe, ‘I’m still his wife, so what do you need?’ Joe asked for a pair of Nike shoes, one hundred dollars, and a hotel room for the night. He then left and didn’t return.

Khloe explained that she was determined to give him every possible advantage in the situation. She ultimately relied on her own judgment more than anyone else around him.

She restricted visits, requiring her permission for anyone who wanted to come over.

Lamar was airlifted from Las Vegas to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, and Khloe stayed at the hospital constantly, as she shared in Untold. She was by his side for around four months, visiting him every day.

After Lamar was released from the hospital in 2016, Khloe rented a house near hers for him and arranged for caregivers to look after him.

According to the court documents, Khloe said she walked in one day and immediately smelled crack cocaine. She found him smoking it in the bedroom and reacted by punching him in the face.

She explained that he had gotten a phone and seemed to be doing surprisingly well, leading her to realize he was manipulating her to keep receiving financial support. She told him he had to move out by Monday, that she would no longer pay for anything, and that she wanted no further contact with him.

You know, I’ve been following the Khloe and Lamar situation, and it’s fascinating. When they finally reunited face-to-face after nearly a decade, at the end of 2024, Lamar admitted he didn’t have a clear recollection of past events. But, and this is important, he also made it clear he wasn’t ignoring or dismissing what happened – he just doesn’t remember it all. It’s a delicate way of acknowledging the past without necessarily taking responsibility for specific things, and honestly, it’s a common dynamic in relationships after a long time apart.

He expressed extreme frustration in the document, using strong language to describe how someone had offered him cocaine, especially considering his recent experiences.

“I can depend on my family,” he reflected, “but most people leave you to f–king rot in the wind.”

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2026-04-08 03:20