Without a doubt, one of the most infamous moments in Kardashian history is the physical fight that unfolded between Kourtney Kardashian and Kim Kardashian in a 2020 episode of their E! reality show.
Tension had been bubbling between the two sisters since 2017, when Kourtney drastically reduced how much time she spent filming for Keeping Up With The Kardashians in order to spend more time with her children.
This decision followed years of Kourtney showcasing some of the most intimate parts of her life on the series, including her rocky relationship with Scott Disick and giving birth to her first child on air.
But Kim did not take Kourtney’s decision to step away from the cameras lightly and would regularly accuse her of having a bad work ethic. Things came to a head after their sister Kylie Jenner bailed on a work commitment due to sickness and Kim commented that their mom, Kris Jenner, is used to her and Khloé Kardashian going to work on their “death beds.”
Kourtney took offense to Kim not including her in this and said: “You act like I don’t do shit, you have this narrative in your mind. I will literally fuck you up if you mention it again. Literally, shut the fuck up! Change the narrative in your mind! I work my fucking ass off.”
“But also, if I didn't want to work my ass off, and I did want to be a stay-at-home mom, that's fucking fine, you literal fucking cunt,” she added as she threw a water bottle at Kim and lunged at her.
This resulted in a very messy physical fight between the pair that Khloé desperately tried to break up. In the end, Kourtney broke down in tears and described filming with her sisters as “torture.”
After Keeping Up ended the following year, Kourtney admitted that it had been a “toxic” environment for her and appeared to be in a better place when the family landed their new series, The Kardashians, with Hulu.
The show premiered last year, and it didn’t take long for viewers to speculate that there is still tension between Kim and Kourtney all these years later.
During the Season 2 finale, fans couldn’t help but notice some shady remarks that Kim made about her older sister. As she tried to calm her nerves ahead of walking the runway for Balenciaga at Paris Fashion Week, she was advised to walk comfortably like she were at “home.”
“Home with Kendall. Not at home with, like, Kourtney,” Kim replied, laughing at the insinuation that Kourtney would not make a good model.
Earlier in the episode, Kim had mocked Kourtney’s posture by imitating her hunching her back and slouching.
Viewers were quick to pick up on the uncalled-for jibes, with one writing at the time: “She was feeling insecure about her walk so she needed to make someone else look bad and her scapegoat is always Kourt. You know, the sister who is actually living her best life right now. Grow up, Kim.”
It was then pointed out that there had been hints at unrest between Kim and Kourtney for a while, with Kourtney seemingly shading Kim in September when a fan claimed that Kim has “always” been the hardest worker of the two.
“working will never be my top priority 🤪🤪🤪 (my kids and husband will always be!) and I am not apologizing for being me,” Kourtney wrote in response to the comment, with Reddit users agreeing that the remark seemed pretty loaded.
Kourtney also appeared to drag Kim over her excessive Met Gala prep last year, with the latter going on a rigorous diet and exercise regime in order to fit into Marilyn Monroe’s dress.
On the other hand, Kourtney did not restrict herself in any way during a trip to Italy ahead of the gala. She said of herself and her now-husband, Travis Barker: “We’ve been eating pasta and drinking cappuccinos. I think it’s the opposite of anyone’s Met prep.”
Kourtney was also notably absent from Kim’s huge moment at Milan Fashion Week, where she unveiled her collaboration with Dolce & Gabbana, and in October, she reflected on feeling ganged up on by Kim and Khloé during their years filming for Keeping Up.
Speaking on the Not Skinny But Not Fat podcast, Kourtney said: “I just felt like they really bonded – like they were going through the same things. And then I felt like that’s when I was unhappy with the show – particularly because of them two kind of ganging up.”
And while she insisted that she has a “good” relationship with her sisters now, sources close to the family have been confirming the speculated feud.
In January of this year, an insider told The Sun US that Kim and Kourtney are “always feuding with each other. They're always at each other's throats.”
They added that the siblings “fight a lot” but “it hasn't gotten to the point where they'll threaten to never speak to each other again.”
And the release of Kourtney and Travis’s wedding special of The Kardashians on Thursday has added more fuel to the fire, with the bonus episode — called “'Til Death Do Us Part” — featuring a ton of previously unseen behind-the-scenes footage from the couple’s three weddings.
The two kicked off their celebrations with a drunken trip to Las Vegas, where they were wed by an Elvis Presley impersonator. A few weeks later, they legally tied the knot in Santa Barbara with just Kourtney’s grandmother and Travis’s dad as witnesses.
The main event was a stunning celebration in Portofino, Italy, where the couple were joined by their friends and family for a weekend of festivities that culminated in a lavish wedding reception in a medieval castle.
And one viewer broke down all of the “awkward moments” between Kim and Kourtney in a TikTok just hours after the episode premiered, with the first eyebrow-raising encounter happening as soon as Kim arrived in Italy for the ceremony with her 9-year-old daughter, North.
Kourtney and Travis had flown out earlier with their children and were waiting on a super yacht to greet their loved ones. As Kourtney spotted the group making their way to the yacht, she enthusiastically started waving at North while shouting: “Northie!”
As the group boarded, Kim appeared to reach out to hug her big sister, only for Kourtney to ignore her and hug North, followed by her younger sister Kendall Jenner. She seemingly doesn’t acknowledge Kim in any way.
Later, as Kourtney is preparing to walk down the aisle, Kim takes it upon herself to offer some sisterly advice. She says: “When I was walking down the aisle in Italy and I had the long train, I was so nervous that it was either going to come off… That I walked so fast.”
Kourtney is posing for pictures with Kris while Kim is speaking and seems disinterested in what she has to say, and when Kim reached the point of her advice, Kourtney quickly cut her off and summarized: “So you’re saying walk slow.”
The TikToker points out that the sisters then pose for a “very awkward picture together,” with there being visible space between Kourtney and Kim in the shot as they avoid body contact.
The final moment that the fan noticed was Kourtney’s reaction to Kim’s speech during the reception. They said: “I really hope it’s editing that made it look like this but Kourtney is not listening, not even acknowledging whatever Kim is saying.”
And sure enough, in the clip Kourtney appears distracted during Kim’s speech and is instead speaking to Travis and his son, Landon. The bride doesn’t seem to be paying attention to the gushing tribute in any way, with the TikToker reiterating: “I’m praying that’s just poor editing and Kourtney was more engaged in Kim’s speech.”
Before long, the TikTok had racked up hundreds of thousands of views, and many people agreed with what was said in the comment section.
“Kourtney and Kim legit are not talking! And I am shook,” one person wrote after watching. Another added: “Dang, she didn’t hug her & from the clip it looked like Kim was extending her arms to hug her but Kourt goes for North & then Kendall..awkward.”
“I feel like kourtney was like *were not going to make this about Kim* like Kim had a lot of scenes cut off,” one more claimed. While someone else echoed: “Hahaha Kim talking about herself for 5 mins straight Kourtney like YEP OK WALK SLOW 🙄 😂”
“That fight they had sealed the deal between them,” someone else said of the 2020 altercation. Another agreed: “that fight really changed everything and I feel like Kim is all about acting and Kourt doesn’t care anymore.”
Others speculated that there was more to the feud than meets the eye as they pointed out that Kourtney’s husband, Travis, previously admitted to having a crush on Kim. They even briefly dated, which may have added to their tension.
In his 2015 autobiography Can I Say: Living Large, Cheating Death, and Drums, Drums, Drums, Travis recalled first meeting Kim during a 2006 trip to Amsterdam with his then-girlfriend Paris Hilton. Kim was working as Paris’s closet organizer at the time.
“I kept on secretly checking out Kim, telling Lil Chris, 'I don't care if she's the closet girl, she's fucking hot,’” he wrote. After splitting from Paris, Travis took Kim on dinner and lunch dates in 2007, spending time with her family and even hiring her to model for his Famous Stars and Straps clothing line.
“You might think I would be doing the worst things with this girl because of her tapes, but it was the exact opposite of any other encounter I've had with a woman: with Kim, I wanted to be nothing but a gentleman to her. It was so weird,” Travis recalled, before insisting that things never got physical between them.
"Kim and I never touched each other. It just wasn't meant to be,” he wrote.
And Travis doubled down on his “crush” on Kim during a 2015 interview with Us Weekly, where he said: “How could you not stare at Kim? Mind you, I enjoyed hanging out with Paris, but I love curvy girls. Kim was eye candy. I was in no way disrespectful to Paris, but I couldn’t keep my eyes off Kim."
“I had a crush on her and we were flirtatious but nothing ever happened. She was so kind and polite, I just felt like being a perfect gentleman around her. It was a trip!" he added.
Kourtney and Travis went public with their relationship in 2021, six years after Travis’s book release and subsequent interview.
“I truly believe high key she knows Travis wanted Kim first & high key gets jealous & purposely doesn't like to pay any attention to her because of it,” one person commented on the new TikTok.
“It’s cause her man wanted Kim first and I think he still does,” one more claimed. Someone else agreed: “Kourt was standoffish with Kim and isnt speaking to her here bc Travis literally says in his book how obsessed with Kim he was, I really think thats y.”
