If you watched last night’s episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians, you might have been among the many who were shocked to see footage and photos of Lamar Odom recovering from the near-fatal overdose he suffered in October of last year.
During his recuperation, the Kardashians repeatedly denied rumors that they were filming Lamar in the hospital, which might be why so many on Twitter were surprised by scenes like this one:
In fairness, it seems that the family did not bring a camera crew to the hospital, as some outlets initially reported, but they did address Lamar’s overdose in a way that was clearly meant to shock.
It would be easy for the Kards to claim that they intended to send a cautionary anti-drug message, and for all we know that could’ve genuinely been their intention.
But it’s hard to ignore the fact that this isn’t the first time they’ve scored ratings off of a loved one’s substance abuse issues.
You may remember when Scott Disick was hospitalized for alcohol poisoning in the summer of 2014, and the family assured fans that the incident would not be used as a plot point on Kourtney & Khloe Take the Hamptons, which was filming at that time.
They went back on that promise, and the episode featuring Scott’s rock-bottom moment turned out to be the most (Read: only) buzzed about installment of the short-lived spinoff.
Of course, no one can say for certain if the Kardashians intended to exploit Lamar’s trauma.
But there’s no denying that the scene felt exploitative, and call us cynical, but given the success they’ve had with near-death experiences in the past, it’s hard to believe the family didn’t consider the ratings bump they’d get from going in-depth with Lamar’s story.
Lamar didn’t particularly seem to mind, and the family has done a lot to help him with his recovery, but the scene still felt like a low point for the Kards.
And that’s saying a lot got a family that became famous because of a sex tape.
Watch Keeping Up With the Kardashians online to decide for yourself if they went too far.
