Some stories refuse to stay buried, and for Lamar Odom, the arrival of a new Netflix documentary means one of the most difficult chapters of his life is about to be examined in detail by a global audience. The former Los Angeles Lakers star has been speaking publicly in the days leading up to the film’s release, offering a rare and unguarded look at where he stands today and what it costs him to revisit the past.
The documentary features Odom’s ex-wife Khloé Kardashian, his former Lakers coach Phil Jackson and staff members from the Las Vegas brothel where Odom was found unresponsive on Oct. 13, 2015. Odom spent nearly three months recovering at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center following the incident. He has described his memories of that period as a cesspool of trauma, and he says the ongoing attention the story receives keeps pulling him back toward a place he is working hard to leave behind.
He has also said he does not intend to watch the film himself. His concern is straightforward and grounded in his recovery. Returning to traumatic memories, he explained, poses a genuine risk for anyone navigating addiction, and protecting his sobriety takes precedence over any curiosity about how his story has been told.
A recovery built on hard-won ground
Odom has described the period since late January as one of renewed commitment to sobriety. He was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence on Jan. 28, pleaded not guilty and completed a 30-day rehabilitation program in February. He has spoken about the experience not as a setback but as a reset, one that reinforced both the difficulty and the importance of the road he is on.
He has been open about the emotional toll that his story’s repeated resurfacing takes on him, but he has also been clear that he believes sharing his experience can be meaningful for others navigating similar struggles. His hope is that his testimony, beyond the specific drama of any single event, can serve as evidence that recovery from addiction is possible.
The night in 2015 and what he says actually happened
Odom has pushed back against certain accounts of the October 2015 incident, denying claims made by brothel employees about the nature of the substances involved. His own account of that night centers on his emotional state at the time, describing a painful combination of despair and recklessness in the hours after signing divorce papers from Kardashian. He has framed it as a moment shaped as much by heartbreak as by addiction, the collision of a life unraveling on multiple fronts at once.
The Khloé chapter
One of the more closely watched elements of the documentary is Kardashian’s participation, particularly given a reunion the two had during a February 2025 episode of The Kardashians. Odom has reflected on that meeting with a mixture of candor and generosity, describing it as emotionally charged and acknowledging that it did not go as he had hoped.
He has spoken about understanding Kardashian’s lingering hurt and recognizing the role he played in causing it, while also noting that he left the encounter feeling something closer to sorrow for her than defensiveness about himself. He has said he has not been in contact with her since and respects where she is in her life today.
What comes next
Untold: The Death and Life of Lamar Odom arrives on Netflix on March 31. Whether or not Odom watches it, his story is already being told in the most visible terms possible. What he is focused on, by his own account, is making sure the version of himself that exists beyond the documentary continues to move forward.
