Lamar Odom is pushing back against criticism from ex-wife Khloé Kardashian over remarks made in his recent Netflix documentary, insisting he never claimed he married her for fame.

The controversy stems from Untold: The Death & Life of Lamar Odom, which premiered on March 31. In the documentary, Odom spoke about being drawn to the Kardashian “lifestyle” and said it played a role in his decision to marry Kardashian in 2009 after just 30 days of dating.

The documentary also featured Odom's close friend, Anthony “Pumpkin” Booker, who claimed the former NBA star told him on his wedding day that he was “doing it to try to better his future” because the Kardashian family had “mad connections.”

Kardashian, who participated in the documentary, later criticised those claims during the April 15 episode of her podcast, Khloé in Wonder Land.

“You’re sitting on camera saying you married me for fame? Like, what?” she said. “I feel so dumb. I spent hours doing this documentary as a favor. I’m not paid one penny. I’m pissed that I’m even involved.”

Addressing the backlash on the June 23 episode of Nothing’s Off the Table with Louis Ruggiero, Odom denied ever making the statement.

“That never came out of my mouth,” he said when asked about claims that he married Kardashian for “clout.”

“I think that was my kids or my children or whoever they were interviewing at the time, because, you know... I didn’t really need [her],” he added, referring to his adult children, Destiny and LJ, who both appeared in the documentary.

When host Louis Ruggiero remarked, “You loved her,” Odom replied, “Yeah, I did. But I didn’t need more clout.”

He added that he wanted to “start the show” by addressing the headlines surrounding the documentary.

“I didn’t really need anybody, you know, at that time,” Odom said. “Right before I was getting married, I was in a relationship with an A+ actress ... When I met Khloé, so many things just fit naturally.”

Odom and Kardashian married in 2009 and separated four years later. Although they split in 2013, their divorce was finalised in 2016 after Kardashian paused the proceedings to help care for Odom following his near-fatal overdose.