Charlie Watson
Kim Kardashian and her mother, Kris Jenner, have taken the rare step of filing a defamation lawsuit against Ray J (William Ray Norwood Jr.), accusing the singer of unleashing a years-long campaign of false allegations and harassment.
The suit zeroes in on two recent incidents. First, in a TMZ Tubi documentary, Ray J stated, “If you told me the Kardashians was being charged for racketeering, I might believe it.” Then, during a viral livestream on September 24, he pronounced that federal authorities were coming, claiming he was collaborating on a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) case against Kim and Kris. According to the lawsuit, he warned viewers that their situation would be “worse than Diddy.”
Kim and Kris deny any such investigation exists. Their legal filing asserts that Ray J made these serious claims without evidence, that no law enforcement agency has initiated a federal racketeering case against them, and that his statements were presented as fact rather than opinion. The lawsuit calls his statements “blatantly false” and accuses him of “reckless disregard for the truth.”
In their papers, Kim and Kris argue that Ray J’s behavior is not a new thing, but part of a decades-long pattern. They claim that because he is “unable to accept the end of his fleeting relationship” with Kim over 20 years ago, he has repeatedly sought to attach himself to their fame and exploit it for personal gain. Their attorney, Alex Spiro, said the baselessness and severity of the allegations left them with no choice. It’s the first time either Kim or Kris has filed a defamation claim.
They’re seeking compensatory and punitive damages, holding Ray J responsible for the reputational harm, emotional distress, and professional fallout they say he has caused.
Of course, Ray J has not publicly responded to the lawsuit as of now.
This legal confrontation is layered with history. Ray J and Kim’s past is famously messy — from their early-2000s relationship to the infamous sex tape leak in 2007, which exploded into a scandal that helped launch Kim’s celebrity empire. The lawsuit suggests those past chapters continue to influence public narratives and fuel ongoing animosity.
Legal watchers will now be watching how the case unfolds. To prevail, Kardashian and Jenner must prove that Ray J’s statements were not only false, but made with “actual malice” — meaning he knew they were false or acted with reckless disregard for the truth.
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