Kim Kardashian and Kris Jenner have filed a defamation lawsuit against Ray J over claims he made suggesting they are the subject of a federal criminal racketeering investigation. The lawsuit, filed on Wednesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, stems from comments Ray J made in a TMZ documentary and a Twitch livestream, alleging the mother-daughter duo are involved in a racketeering case.
The lawsuit alleges that Ray J, whose real name is William Ray Norwood Jr., has been unable to accept the end of his relationship with Kardashian over 20 years ago, and has repeatedly sought to exploit their prominence for personal gain. Kardashian and Jenner claim Ray J's statements are part of a sustained campaign of harassment and defamation against them.
Specifically, the lawsuit points to Ray J's comments in the TMZ/Tubi documentary "United States vs. Sean Combs," where he said that racketeering charges against the Kardashians "would be appropriate". He further escalated his claims during a livestream with Chrisean Rock on September 24, declaring that a federal racketeering investigation had been launched into the Kardashian family and that it was "worse than Diddy".
Kardashian and Jenner deny Ray J's allegations, stating that "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". Their attorney, Alex Spiro, emphasized that this is the first time either Kardashian, 44, or Jenner, 69, have filed a defamation claim. He stated that Ray J's public statements are "blatantly false" and were presented as factual assertions about ongoing federal criminal proceedings, not as speculation or opinion. Spiro added that Ray J's publication of these serious criminal accusations without any attempt at verification constitutes reckless disregard for the truth.
Ray J responded to the lawsuit on Instagram, asserting that he "will not be silenced". In a video, he said he spoke with Jenner-Kardashian attorney Alex Spiro, who allegedly asked him "crazy questions," including whether he spoke to "feds". He also stated, "The rain is coming, there's nothing you can do about it".
The lawsuit also references a past incident where Ray J made false claims about having intimate relations with rapper Sexyy Red. Kardashian and Jenner are seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages for the harm to their reputations.
