Lamar Odom-Khloe Kardashian update: Altercation connected to James Harden

Former NBA star Lamar Odom has spoken up to defend himself after reports stated that he ambushed his ex-wife Khloe Kardashian early Wednesday morning. The embattled basketball player has gone on camera to set things straight, but now new reports are stating that the altercation has stemmed from Kardashian's new romance with Houston Rockets player James Harden.

People reports that the alleged verbal attack by Odom outside SoulCycle in Beverly Hills had something to do with the budidng Kardashian-Harden romance.

Odom reportedly has an issue with Kardashian and her new man, but she has been ignoring his attempts to talk about it. Last weekend, Harden was spotted with the entire Kardashian-Jenner clan as they celebrated Kylie Jenner's 18th birthday over a string of dinners and parties.

The source told People that the incident with Odom has forced Kardashian to consider getting a bodyguard. However, a conflicting statement by Odom himself paints an entirely different picture of the incident.

On Thursday, TMZ cameras caught up with Odom and he said that he didn’t like how the encounter was reported in various news outlets. He took some time to rant directly at paparazzi and denied that he stalked and ambushed his ex.

“I am not, not, NOT the person they are trying to make me out to be,” he started. He explained that he lives in Las Vegas and that he could not have known where Kardashian was going to be, unless she told him.

He continued to rant about how the media has played him out to be a womanizer and a drug addict. This time, when reports came out that he ambushed his ex-wife, he could not help but to fight back to defend himself.

“Nobody got followed, nobody got hassled, nobody got harassed, nobody got grabbed on, none of that,” he clarified. His rant stems from a report that was broken by TMZ on Wednesday, which states that eyewitnesses saw Odom verbally abusing Kardashian when she turned up to have a workout session at SoulCycle. She reportedly started screaming after Odom touched her. The so-called altercation reportedly ended after a bystander asked Kardashian about calling the police and she just decided to leave.

Odom ended his rant by saying that the most hurtful part was that he had to defend himself. He said that he beat her to the punch when she should have been the one saying that the reports were ridiculous. Kardashian has not given any statement to confirm or deny the reports.

The former couple was married for four years before Kardashian filed for divorce in December 2013. The papers were signed by both parties just last month.

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