Entertainment
Kim Kardashian Hospitalized After Terrifying New Diagnosis
Kim Kardashian revealed a painful health scare that hits especially close to home, decades after her father, Robert Kardashian, died from esophageal cancer at just 59.
A new trailer for Season 8 of “The Kardashians” shows Kardashian dealing with esophagitis, an inflammation of the lining of the esophagus that landed the reality star in the hospital.
“I have something called esophagitis,” Kardashian tells members of her makeup team in the teaser.
The footage then cuts to Kardashian lying in a hospital bed as medical workers tend to her.
The diagnosis quickly raises an emotional question for the Kardashian family because of what happened to Robert, the prominent attorney who became a household name while serving on O.J. Simpson’s defense team during his blockbuster murder trial.
Someone off-camera asks Kardashian whether the condition is what her father died from.
“Yeah,” Kardashian responds.
“I can’t, it makes me want to cry,” Kardashian’s mother, Kris Jenner, says in the teaser.
Robert died from esophageal cancer in 2003, years before his children became some of the biggest names in reality television.
Esophagitis and esophageal cancer are not the same condition. Esophagitis involves inflammation or irritation of the esophagus, while esophageal cancer involves the growth of cancerous cells.
Kris and Robert were married for 13 years and had four children together: Kourtney, Kim, Khloé and Robert Jr. The couple divorced in 1991.
Robert’s death came four years before “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” debuted on E! and turned the family into an international entertainment empire.
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Kim Kardashian has repeatedly spoken about the impact her father’s death had on her life.
In a 2023 interview with GQ, Kardashian recalled one of the final conversations she had with Robert before he died.
She shared that he told her: “I know you’re going to be okay. It’s almost like I can see ahead. I know you’re going to be okay, but just take care of your siblings for me. Just make sure you take care of them.”
Kim said: “I took what he said to mean that I was going to be okay in life. But it made me make decisions differently.”
Robert had been close friends with Simpson for years before joining the legal team that defended the former NFL star against charges that he murdered his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman.
Simpson was acquitted of the criminal charges in 1995 following one of the most closely watched trials in American history.
Last year, on the 22nd anniversary of Robert’s death, Kardashian shared an emotional tribute to her father on Instagram Stories and thanked him for “always protecting the family from heaven.”
“Can’t believe I was 22 years old when you passed away, and it’s been 22 years today since you went to heaven,” she wrote.
“I’ve known you just as long as you’ve been gone.
“I hope you’re so proud of all of us. We love you dad and miss you soooooooooo much (sic).”
