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It’s the kind of celebrity myth that just refuses to die. For years, tabloids and fans have whispered the same story: before Kourtney Kardashian married Travis Barker, her younger sister Kim supposedly had a fling with him. This week, Kim put that rumor to rest once and for all during an interview that reminded everyone how exhausting fame can be.
Speaking on the Call Her Daddy podcast, hosted by Alex Cooper, Kim didn’t dodge the question. She looked it straight in the eye. “I never have,” she said firmly. “Absolutely not. It really sucks that this rumor has gone on.”
A rumor that just wouldn’t die
The internet has a strange way of keeping certain stories alive. A quote here, a photo there, and suddenly speculation becomes a full-blown “fact.” Kim’s alleged connection with the Blink-182 drummer is one of those stories that grew out of nothing and refused to fade.
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She explained that her connection to Travis dates back to the early 2000s, when he was dating Paris Hilton. “We were all friends,” Kim said. “We’d hang out when I was with Paris, go to their tour in Amsterdam, just normal stuff.”
According to Kim, there was never anything romantic between them. “I’ve been friends with him and never hooked up with him.” Still, when your social circle includes some of the most famous people on the planet, every friendship turns into a potential headline.
How one confession became a decade-long rumor
Part of what fueled the story was Travis Barker’s 2015 memoir Can I Say: Living Large, Cheating Death, and Drums, Drums, Drums, where he admitted he once found Kim attractive. It wasn’t a revelation, just a harmless confession. But online gossip doesn’t deal in nuance. A passing crush can easily become “proof” of a secret fling.
Kim noted that she didn’t even realize that detail would resurface years later. “But it would say that we never hooked up,” she clarified. “I don’t think he’d allude to anything else.”
Her words highlight a larger truth about celebrity life: you don’t control your story unless you fight for it. Every sentence you say can be taken out of context. Every silence can be turned into confirmation.
Keeping it real within the family circle
When Travis started dating Kourtney in 2020, the internet could have had a field day. Instead, Kim says things were always “super open and cool.”
“They were neighbors for a decade,” she explained. “Everyone was always hanging out, birthdays, family stuff. He was around with his kids. It was nothing weird.”
That may disappoint anyone hoping for family drama, but it speaks to how grounded the Kardashian-Barker dynamic really is. The family has built its empire on visibility, yet somehow they’ve learned to navigate even the most uncomfortable stories with composure.
Why rumors like this stick around
Every few years, the entertainment industry picks a rumor to chew on. It becomes cultural wallpaper, a conversation starter, a meme. The truth gets buried under screenshots and speculation. Kim’s denial isn’t just about clearing her name; it’s a reminder of how misinformation thrives when people want a juicier story than reality.
Her tone during the podcast wasn’t defensive. It was tired, maybe even sad. After two decades in the spotlight, Kim knows that silence can be mistaken for guilt and speaking up can sound like protest. Either way, she loses control of the narrative.
That’s the impossible equation of fame: the world asks for transparency, then weaponizes it.
Owning the narrative again
By calmly shutting down the rumor, Kim reclaims something simple but powerful — her own truth. There’s no spin, no dramatic clapback, just a statement of fact. “Never happened.” In a culture addicted to spectacle, her restraint feels almost rebellious.
In the influencer age, where authenticity is curated like a brand aesthetic, Kim’s response stands out. It’s not rehearsed damage control. It’s human fatigue wrapped in honesty. And maybe that’s why people listened this time.
What this moment really says about fame
As fast as the internet moves, this story will fade soon enough, replaced by a new headline. But Kim’s handling of it might outlast the gossip itself. It’s a reminder that truth still matters in an era where narratives spread faster than facts.
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Maybe the real takeaway isn’t that Kim and Travis were never a thing — it’s that sometimes the most shocking revelation is that there’s no scandal at all. Just people living their lives while the world insists on rewriting their stories.
For once, the truth is exactly what it looks like: ordinary, unglamorous, and completely human.
