What was supposed to be a ‘blazingly honest memoir’ by Real Housewives of Beverly Hills alum Kim Richards, will now never see the light of day, DailyMail.com has learned.
The 56-year old former child star’s new autobiography, The Whole Truth: The Reality of it All, has been axed by publisher Dey Street Books, a division of Harper Collins, sources revealed.
It comes over a year after the Bravo star first announced the book deal for which she reportedly received a $300,000 advance.
The tell-all promised to reveal the ‘harrowing’ and ‘ultimately empowering story’ of Kim, the sister of Kyle Richards and Kathy Hilton – whose children are socialites Paris and Nicky.
The description had touted the book as ‘the soul-baring confession of a woman revealing what it was like to be treated like a show pony as a child star, as a disposable object as a wife, a whipping post as a sister, and as a tabloid commodity as a celebrity.’
Kim Richards’s upcoming memoir, The Whole Truth: The Reality of it All, has been ‘killed’ by publisher Harper Collins, sources told Daily Mail.com. The book promised to be a ‘blazingly honest’ account of the reality star’s (pictured with sister Kyle in 2011) life
It comes a year after the 56-year-old former child star announced the book deal, for which she reportedly received a $300,000 advance
But there had been suspicions the biography would never make it on the shelves after its initial release date of April 28, 2020 was pushed back to August last year, and again to February 2, 2021.
The book has been available for pre-order on Amazon and other retail websites, however, its cover has never been revealed.
The biography appeared to be doomed from the start after its release date was pushed back several times. The cover has also never been released
The Harper Collins website last showed the memoir was slated to be published on October 15, 2021, but insiders say that is not the case.
‘They killed it,’ a source with knowledge of the deal told DailyMail.com. ‘And they’re letting Kim keep the $300,000 book advance.
‘[Harper Collins] said they didn’t think they would ‘be able’ to recoup the money so they’re taking it as a loss.’
The decision is the final nail in the coffin for the book which had been mired in controversy from the start.
Both of Kim’s sisters, fellow RHOBH star Kyle, 52, and Kathy 62, were reportedly upset with what family secrets might have been revealed in its pages.
In February last year, Kyle told PEOPLE she and Kathy had been left in the dark about their sister’s new project.
‘I didn’t really know about the book,’ Kyle said at the time. ‘I mean, she started saying she was working on, you know, something and I didn’t really – I don’t really know a lot about it. All I know is we’re in a good place, so hopefully we’re going to stay there.’
She told the magazine Kathy had been ‘a little taken aback’ by the book as well.
In 2019, ghostwriter Alison Kingsley Baker also successfully sued Kim for just over $5,000, after learning she had pocketed the $300,000 book advance without paying for her services.
‘This book was cursed from the beginning, with a lawsuit and delay after delay,’ the source said. ‘No one should be surprised it was finally given the ax.’
Kim’s decision to write a tell-all book reportedly caused drama between her and her sisters, who were allegedly upset with what she could disclose
Kim appeared as a main cast member on the hit reality show for five seasons alongside sister Kyle. She is now only featured as a guest star
DailyMail.com has contacted Harper Collins and Kim Richards for comment.
The twice-married television personality is known for her colorful past.
In 2015, Kim was arrested for shoplifting $600 of goods at a Target, and for trespassing and public intoxication at the Beverly Hills Hotel that same year.
Her former fiancé (John J. Collett) was executed by a paid hitman in 1991 while he had been talking on the phone with her.
Kim also publicly accused sister Kyle, 52, (and her realtor husband Mauricio Umansky, 50) of scamming her out of her portion of their late mother’s Palm Springs home on the first season of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.
The mother of four and now a grandmother of two, however, seems somewhat more settled these days.
She lives in a guard gated two-bedroom, two-bath, $600,000 condo in the San Fernando Valley, just a few miles drive away from Kyle.
Kim had been a main cast member on the hit reality show for five seasons but now only appears occasionally as a guest star.
Half-sister Kathy Hilton is now set to join the season 11 cast of RHOBH when it premieres this spring.
