Pictures and screengrabs from Kim Kardashian’s sex tape (update: video NSFW)

Vivid says they’re legally covered, so it’s not too much of a stretch to assume that Ray J sold it to them. He was said to have written on Kim’s myspace that they should share their love. Kim has sort-of admitted that the tape exists, but has insisted she won’t sell it and said she doesn’t need the money. She also seemed to think that Ray J wouldn’t betray her by releasing it, but she was obviously mistaken:

On Tuesday, porn purveyor Vivid Video bought the tape, which had been floating on the porn market for about a month, for $1 million from an unidentified source. The company plans to have a DVD titled “Kim Kardashian Superstar” in stores by Feb. 28, with additional footage on kimksuperstar.com. Vivid co-chairman Steven Hirsch said, “We are comfortable that we have the legal right to distribute this video . . . I’ve seen the video and it’s really great. It has over 30 minutes of explicit sex that fans of erotica will find very appealing . . . Apparently, the video was shot by Ray J about three years ago when he and Kim were in a relationship. Viewers will definitely get their money’s worth.” A rep for Kardashian said, “Are you [bleep]ing me? Kim is going to die . . . are you sure?” Later, he added, “She will be taking legal action against anyone responsible for this. She was unaware of this and caught completely off-guard.” Ray J could not be reached.

I signed up for the video preview by entering my e-mail and the link has not yet been sent to me 20 minutes later.

Ray J, 26, has actually shacked up with Whitney Houston, 43. They met back in 1997 when Whitney and Brandy were starring in a TV special “Cinderella” together, and Ray J was jailbait at 16. They met again after Thanksgiving last year and moved so fast they’re now said to be living together. Whitney just sold a bunch of her stuff at auction and probably needs the money to save her house, so I bet she was instrumental in encouraging Ray J to sell the tape.

Along with hanging out with Paris, Kim is known for dating Nick Lachey briefly last spring and is the daughter of deceased O.J. dream team lawyer Robert Kardashian. She is a fashion stylist and enjoys buying and selling on eBay.

The press release on the KimKSuperstar site says the video will be online at a date TBD. We’ll all be waiting.

Thanks to my friends at The Blemish for e-mailing me this video preview, below. It will probably work for like another few hours before it’s taken down. It’s NSFW but not overly so:

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