For a while it seemed like Kim Kardashian and her older sister Kourtney might have squashed the beef that dominated much of the Season 3 storyline of The Kardashians. However, anybody who tuned in for the recent premiere of Season 4 saw that was anything but the case, as the famous sisters engaged in a brutal argument over the phone that ended with Kourtney telling Kim, “You’re a witch, and I hate you” (which was also the episode title). Executive producer Ben Winston opened up about that “fiery” fight and spoke about the discomfort of filming disputes on the show.
The Kardashians stars don’t seem to shy away from the cameras too often on their reality show (available to stream with a Hulu subscription), and there have been some pretty wild disagreements over the years. However, it’s been a long time since we’ve seen anything like the phone conversation between Kim and Kourtney Kardashian in the Season 4 premiere, which revealed that the sisters’ watchback of Season 3 actually reignited tensions between the two. Ben Winston acknowledged as much, telling Variety:
This season starts with more of the fallout of what happened with Kim and Kourtney. There’s no doubt about it — it’s probably our most fiery scene that we’ve ever shot, in the premiere.
He admitted it was tense, as Kourtney Kardashian called her sister a “narcissist” and Kim Kardashian alleged to have a “Not Kourtney” group chat with her sister’s friends to talk about her. Behind the scenes the crew was experiencing the heated conversation in real time, and Ben Winston described how “difficult” those moments can be:
Everything what you see is exactly what happens. It’s always tense when you’re filming disputes. But I have so much respect for the family, because they always allow us to film — but it’s always difficult to be filming hard scenes like that. On the one hand, when things like that happen, it’s going to be good for storylines. On the other hand, it’s also tense and a difficult thing to film.
It’s one thing to watch the siblings argue through our screens, but I’d imagine it’s a whole different experience to be actually in the room during that intensely personal moment. Of course, the crew was aware that the drama would make for good TV, but I’m sure there was still some awkwardness involved.
The situation at Kourtney Kardashian’s wedding to Travis Barker was brought up again, with the Lemme founder accusing her sister of not being happy that she wasn’t the center of attention. After telling Kim, “I don’t need you guys anymore,” she laid into her sister, saying:
It’s about you. You are a narcissist. It’s all about you. Anything you do, it’s about you and about how it looks to the world about you.
Kim Kardashian also lost her temper, telling Kourtney:
You hate us. You’re a different person. We all talk about it. All of your friends call us complaining, whether you think they’re the ones going to you, they’re all coming to us on the side saying the opposite to us, so we’re all confused. And we’re on a group chat that’s literally labeled ‘Not Kourtney,’ so we know and have to funnel what your friends are saying to us. And have to figure out why you’re such a different person and why you have this vendetta out. … Your kids have even come to me with problems that they have and how you are, so.
According to the EP, viewers will see the rift start to heal between the sisters over the course of Season 4, but there’s no doubt that was an intense way to kick off the season. New episodes of The Kardashians drop on Thursdays, and be sure to check out what else is new and coming soon to Hulu.