Kim Kardashian and Kris Jenner Sue Ray J for Defamation Over Racketeering Claims
k Kim Kardashian and her mother, Kris Jenner, are suing her ex-boyfriend Ray J for claiming they are under federal investigation and on the verge of being indicted. The defamation lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Wednesday, is a fast and aggressive pushback against allegations they say are entirely baseless.
They say Ray J, whose legal name is Ray Norwood Jr., falsely claimed he was working with federal investigators on a racketeering case against them that will soon lead to their indictment. According to the lawsuit, his comments are part of a “sustained campaign of harassment and defamation” that has gone on for years.
“Unable to accept the end of his fleeting relationship with Ms. Kardashian over twenty years ago, Ray J has repeatedly sought to attach himself to Plaintiffs’ names and exploit their prominence for personal gain,” the lawsuit states.
The court filing highlights two recent statements that crossed a line and forced the lawsuit. In a TMZ special that aired in May, Ray J said, “racketeering charges against the Kardashians would be appropriate,” and “if you told me that the Kardashians were being charged for racketeering, I might believe it.”
He went further in a Sept. 30 livestream, with millions of viewers, claiming, “The federal RICO I’m about to drop on Kris and Kim is about to be crazy” and “the feds is coming.” He added that the racketeering case would be “worse than Diddy.”
An email to a Ray J representative seeking comment was not immediately answered. The lawsuit says he provided no evidence for his “blatantly false” statements. “No such federal investigation exists; no law enforcement agency has initiated any criminal proceedings or investigations related to racketeering charges against Ms. Kardashian or Ms. Jenner; and no credible evidence whatsoever supports these inflammatory allegations,” it states.
Ray J is a singer, actor, and brother to pop star Brandy, but he is perhaps best known for his relationship with Kardashian and a sex tape showing the couple that was leaked in 2007. “Ray J’s acknowledged animosity toward the Kardashian family, coupled with his demonstrated willingness to lie for attention, leaves no room for doubt that his recent RICO statements were neither careless nor impulsive,” the lawsuit says. “They were the latest salvo in a deliberate and malicious campaign of harassment and defamation intended to defame Plaintiffs while reviving his own fading notoriety.”
The lawsuit claims that the “media storm” set off by these comments has caused reputational and financial damages to Kardashian and Jenner, which will be established at trial. The pair are represented by attorney Alex Spiro, who is known for handling high-profile cases, including leading the team that got charges against Alec Baldwin dismissed mid-trial.
