14 Victims of the “Kardashian Curse”: Is It Real?

The Kardashians are no strangers to controversy, hate and celebrity scandals. Not only are they bashed for supposedly having “no talent,” but the famous family is also thought to carry a significant “Curse”.

Rumor has it, the family has an aura of evil that drives men insane and into ruin. Even family member, Kylie Jenner claims the curse exists:

“The Kardashian curse is every male figure that comes and dates a Kardashian. Their life kind of just goes down hill after that.”

As far as history goes, it’s safe to say each man associated with this family has (ironically? coincidently?) suffered a dramatic fall from grace. But are Kim, Khloe and Kourtney (and Kendall and Kylie) really to blame? Their haters seem to think so.

Here are 14 men who are believed to have fallen victim to the family curse…

1. Kanye West

The most famous man to allegedly fall victim to the “Kardashian Kurse” – as they put it –  is none other than Kanye West. The rapper is no stranger to controversy, even before he married Kim, but recently, he has been deemed “unstable” due to his many heated rants and raves.

Kim Kardashian’s ex-husband was hospitalized in 2016 for “his own safety” after “sleep deprivation and dehydration” got the better of him. In 2020, Kim and her mother, Kris reportedly tried to get Kanye to a doctor after he suffered from a bout of bipolar disorder during his run for presidency (yep, another irrational moment of his).

And most recently, Kanye publicly shared his anti-Semitic beliefs, which further derailed his reputation – and finances (several businesses cut ties with Ye following his claims), losing about $1.6 billion of his net worth.

After six years of marriage to leader of the gang, Kim, it comes across as though Kanye has finally been hit by the Kardashian Curse – or so they say…

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But Kanye isn’t the only man to supposedly crack under Kardashian pressure. The record of men that the family have “ruined” is vast.

2. Lamar Odom

Khloe Kardashian married basketball player, Lamar Odom in 2009 and all seemed good in the hood from what was shown on television. However, things were rather bumpy behind the scenes – Lamar lost his cousin in 2011, and a week later, he was involved in a serious car accident which left a 15-year-old boy dead.

Just a year later, partying and infidelity rumors swirled around his marriage to Khloe, and a year after that, Khloe filed for divorce.

In 2015, Khloe’s ex-husband had a crack cocaine-induced stroke at a brothel which left him in a life-threatening coma. Thankfully, Lamar made it through, but it hasn’t stopped the haters from saying he’d fallen prey to the Kardashian Curse.

So, which other man in this family is supposedly a victim of the Kardashian curse theory?

3. Scott Disick

The father of Kourtney’s children and regular partaker in Keeping Up With the Kardashians has had a publicized struggle with alcohol and drugs. He even checked into rehab in 2015 to battle the problem, but it eventually led to his break-up with Kourtney.

At one point, Scott even believed the Kardashian Curse was real. He was told by a psychic on KUWTK:

“The cards talk a lot about a load of negative energy… Everything that you try to do, you have a tendency to have many obstacles in front of you. To answer your question, I would probably say you do have a curse.”

4. Tristan Thompson

Tristan’s relationship with Khloe was running smoothly until they were struck with cheating scandals. The NBA player didn’t just cheat once, but multiple times according to Insider.

The couple were the talk of the town once Tristan’s first round of cheating took place. The affair was with Kylie Jenner’s best friend, Jordyn Woods. The scandal rocked the entertainment world more so as Khloe had been pregnant with Tristan’s child at the time. After more rounds of makeups and breakups, the couple finally parted ways when everyone learned that Tristan had fathered a child to another woman while trying to reconcile with Khloe.

It’s pretty hard to blame this breakup on a “curse”, considering Tristan’s wrongdoings were down to his own stupid choices.

Yet, still…

Throughout his relationship with Khloe, Tristan’s NBA team, the Cleveland Cavaliers, were performing poorly, leading many to believe the Kardashian curse was to blame for their losing streak.

Do you smell witchcraft?

5. Tyga

Now, we know he wasn’t dating a Kardashian per se, but he was intertwined within the famous family. Having been in a relationship with Kylie Jenner for three years, it’s not too much of a reach that we’re including him in this list.

Tyga has several big hits under his belt including Rack City and Ayo, but it appears his most popular tracks and successes route back to the days either before or during his involvement with the KDash family.

Following his split with Kylie, Tyga’s career went downhill, with several of his singles being deemed a flop (we dare you to name one of his recent tracks). He was also under media scrutiny for bailing out on car payments and rent, and being involved in several lawsuits.

6. Kris Humphries

Yet another of Kim Kardashian’s ex-husbands is said to have been affected by the Curse. Kris Humphries may have been married to the fashionista for just 72 days, but following their rocky romance, it’s believed the devil may have played his little game once again.

Kris’ reputation has been tarnished since leaving the family. People no longer recognize him as a renowned basketball player, but instead, as the villain who was married for just 72 days to Kim K.

He discussed his declining reputation in an essay for The Players’ Tribune, while referring to one of his basketball games, saying, “I thought to myself, ‘Why exactly are they booing me, though? Is it just because I’m That Guy from TV? Do they think I was trying to be famous? Is it because they think I disrespected the game of basketball? The last one killed me, because all I’ve ever wanted to be known for was basketball.”

7. Reggie Bush

Reggie was Kim’s boyfriend for three years and even made regular appearances on Keeping Up With the Kardashians during its early days. The athlete was a celebrated footballer, but following his split from Kim, he lost momentum in his skill, and was unfortunately dubbed “the biggest over hyped flop ever in professional football”. He retired soon after.

Were the Kardashians to blame for Reggie’s downfall?

8. Ray J

Being the brother of mega R&B singer, Brandy and having hit singles like One Wish and Sexy Can I, you’d think Ray J would be known as more than just Kim Kardashian’s tape partner.

But as the Kardashian Curse goes (apparently so), it only makes sense that Ray J’s career would spiral downwards after hooking up with the famous fashionista. The poor dude may have hit it first, but that’s just about the only thing he can brag about as of late (career-wise).

9. James Harden

He may have only briefly dated Khloe in 2015, but according to James, it was the “worst year of his life.”

Not because he may have had a tumultuous relationship with Khloe, but because the romance took a toll on James’ career. And well, as seen with other ex-athlete-boyfriends-husbands on this list, the Kardashian Curse likes to prey on sports careers.

“I didn’t like all the attention,” Harden told Sports Illustrated. “I feel like it was for no reason. I wasn’t getting anything out of it except my name out there and my face out there, and I don’t need that.”

James Harden also told Maxim that ending his fling with Khloe “made him a better basketball player”.

10. Damon Thomas

Kim’s lesser-known ex-husband, Damon Thomas is yet another so-called victim to the Curse. He was married to Kim in the early 2000s and following their rocky divorce, he filed for bankruptcy. Apparently, Damon had a debt of $4 million.

If it’s real, this Curse sure likes to hit you where it hurts the most…

11. Rashad McCants

In case you haven’t noticed yet, these Kardashian women have a thing for athletes.

Yet another man on Khloe’s list is Rashad McCants, whom she dated in 2005. The NBA player didn’t have nice words to say about his romance with the star and blamed his failed career on her -“Without that situation in play, I’m a $60-70 million player,” Rashad told Charlotte Observer. Ouch!

12. Devin Booker

Another dude involved with (or shall we say “cursed by”?) the Kardashian-Jenner clang was none other than Devin Booker, basketball player for the Phoenix Suns. Kendall Jenner’s boyfriend at the time dated her for two years, having successfully kept their relationship out of the public eye.

But it was his devastating loss during the NBA Finals in July 2021 when their affair finally became the talk of the town – and not for good reasons, of course. Devin’s poor performance was blamed on the Kardashian curse by fans on Twitter.

Despite this, Kendall has previously spoken on the Curse by calling it “offensive.”

Well, we can’t say Devin is the first high-profile NBA athlete to date a Kardashian-Jenner AND take a few Ls. 

13. Pete Davidson

Actor and former SNL cast member, Pete Davidson, dated Kim Kardashian for almost a year. This relationship was pretty turbulent, however, thanks to Kim’s ex-husband Kanye West, who continuously bashed and bullied Pete throughout this fling.

From attacking Pete Davidson on Instagram to teasing him in his music videos, Pete clearly became a victim of online harassment at the hands of Kanye West. So much so, that he ended up undergoing trauma therapy to deal with the rapper’s ongoing bullying.

A source later told Radar Online that Pete felt that he fell victim to the curse of the Kardashians:

“The more he reflects on what he went through with Kim the more Pete wants to pinch himself and ask what the hell he was thinking. His swagger was gone and he seriously worried he’d become a long-term victim of the Kardashian curse.”

14. Rob Kardashian

Another dude who has apparently been hexed by the so-called Curse is a Kardashian himself.

Rob, the only son of Kris Jenner, has publicly battled depression and weight gain. It took an engagement and baby with Blac Chyna to snap him out of his funk and lead a happier life, but after their split, he went returned to his downward spiral again. Since then, the Kardashian brother has stayed out of the limelight.

Was Robert born into the curse?

Who Started the Kardashian Curse?

So, apparently, every man who becomes involved with one of the Kardashian-Jenner sisters falls from grace or is doomed to failure in some way. But where did this so-called curse begin? Who started the curse?

A wild TikTok trend claims that the Kardashians’ distant relative “sacrificed her soul” to witches in order for her bloodline to always have fame and fortune – while the men around them suffer.

INSANTITY!

Fans have even gone so far as to say that mother/momager (manager) of the Kardashians, Kris Jenner is the one to have started the Curse. One Reddit user referenced Robert Kardashian, Kris Jenner’s first husband and father to the family – “Kris cheated – perhaps starting the Kardashian’s Kurse lol”.

Sounds ridiculous, right?

You know what’s even crazier? There’s a theory that Caitlyn (formally ‘Bruce’) Jenner was also hit by the Kardashian Curse. Kris Jenner’s ex-husband came out as a transgender woman in 2015, declaring that she had dealt with gender dysphoria since she was young.

So Is The “Kardashian Curse” Real?

Of course not!

Firstly, it’s distasteful for people to claim that the Kardashians “changed” Bruce Jenner. That disrespects her lifelong struggle with gender identity as well as the entire trans population – because it argues that gender transformation is an “illness” and that is NOT okay.

The day Kanye was admitted into hospital, was the anniversary of his mother’s death. And let’s not forget the successful male artist has been controversial way before his hook-up with Kim (it probably all started from his feud with Taylor Swift).

Kanye clearly went through a tough time – AND he suffers from bipolar disorder. He isn’t “doomed”, perhaps his psychotic break is just a coincidence and a matter of bad timing…

So, what about the other men?

Lamar Odom had a tough childhood and a heroin-addicted father. That’s not all. In 2006, his six-month-old son died from sudden infant death syndrome.

The Kardashians didn’t change any of these men, they were each already fighting their own battles, before they even met a Kardashian girl.

Perhaps it’s the heavy spotlight that the Kardashian family attract that made these men’s issues a ticking time bomb. This is especially apparent to Rob. The reality TV-star has even admitted that the cameras following him was pressurizing.

Scott lost both his parents within three months in 2014. As an only child, it makes sense that Scott suffered from huge emotional stress which led to the consumption of alcohol.

And Pete Davidson? Well, we think any person would suffer from trauma after being targeted by Kanye, right? There isn’t a “curse” to blame.

While it may be funny to assume that the Kardashian Curse is indeed real, we have to convince you, it really isn’t.

Some of these breakdowns and career failures are simply a matter of coincidence and personal experience – there’s no witchcraft or wizardry involved.

Want to fight us on it? Start a conversation in the comments below…

This article was originally published in July 2020.

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