Kim Kardashian, mother leaked former's sex tape?

Reality TV star Kim Kardashian and her mother Kris Jenner reportedly planned to leak her x-rated sex tape with former boyfriend Ray J to make her a superstar, claims a new book.

Kim filed a lawsuit against Vivid Entertainment who distributed the X-rated video that was shot back in 2003 was leaked, and now a new book called "Kardashian Dynasty: The Controversial Rise of America's Royal Family" by Ian Halperin claims it was all part of a big plan, reports to pagesix.com.

Investigative journalist and author Halperin quotes a source from the "adult film industry", who told him: "A mutual friend of Kim and Paris (Hilton) had advised her that if she wanted to achieve fame, a sex tape would be the way to go... Kim had discussed the idea of producing a tape with her family beforehand."

Halperin goes on claiming that an old friend of Kim once told him: "It was Kris who engineered the deal behind the scenes and was responsible for the tape seeing the light of day," noting that the allegation had long been circulating in the showbiz world.

He further supported his claim with a statement by a Vivid spokesperson, who told him, "When it comes to... selling a sex tape, both parties need to sign off," suggesting that both Kim and her then partner had agreed to the release of the sex tape before it was made public.

The representative for Vivid reportedly detailed how it got its hand on the sex tape.

"A third party brought it to Vivid .... (We) got in touch with the Kardashian family," the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said that celebrities usually didn't get paid when a sex tape was leaked, "so why not work for us, and we'll make sure that it will not only get out, but that it will be distributed the way you want."

Halperin concludes in his book, "It is clear that Vivid would not have announced plans to distribute Kim's tape without a clear indication from the family that they would give the go-ahead once they had come to terms on a price."

A rep for Kim, however, has denied the claim, telling Page Six, "All the assertions are false."