Kim Kardashian and Kris Jenner are suing Ray J for defamation, as attorney aims fire at ex-boyfriend 18 years on from leaked sex tape.
Attorney Alex Spiro confirmed he had filed the lawsuit on behalf of the reality TV moguls after the US singer, 44, for public claims he made that the pair were under a federal racketeering investigation.
Kardashian’s ex – real name William Ray Norwood Jr – initially raised these comments in TMZ’s Tubi documentary United States vs. Sean Combs where he said ‘if you told me the Kardashians was being charged for racketeering, I might believe it.’
This was followed by a livestream to his social media followers (he has 2.8million on Instagram) where he said an investigation has been launched.
In a statement to People, Spiro said: ‘Kris Jenner and Kim Kardashian have never brought a defamation claim before nor have they been distracted by noise – but this false and serious allegation left no choice’.
He added that it was the ‘most malicious defamatory conduct’.
The filing accuses him of ‘a sustained campaign of harassment and defamation’ over the past two decades.
‘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,’ Spiro wrote.
Then reiterated that there was ‘no credible evidence for these inflammatory accusations’ which were ‘blatantly false’.
‘His reliance on his own unsubstantiated assertions, despite having no factual basis or credible source for these inflammatory allegations, demonstrates a fundamental disregard for truth and a willful intent to harm Plaintiffs’ reputations,’ Spiro concluded.
Kardashian and Ray J have a long and difficult history since their relationship and eventual breakup in 2006.
In 2007, the Keeping Up with the Kardashian star’s life was changed forever when a sex tape they made together was leaked to the public.
Kim Kardashian and Ray J sex tape timeline
The pair dated from 2003 to 2006, and it is believed that the sex tape that eventually leaked was filmed in Cabo in October 2003.
Speaking about what brought them together that year, Ray J said: ‘It was so many different things about her.
‘But let me say that beyond the love, I felt like she had star quality. And I felt like she could be really big. So it happened. I got a lot of respect for Kim.’
In February 2007, their sex tape was leaked to the public.
In February that year, the Skims businesswoman also sued Vivid Entertainment for ‘invasion of privacy’ after they obtained and profited from a copy. The suit was settled for $5m in April 2007.
The reality star spoke about the sex tape in the first season of Keeping Up With The Kardashians.
When asked by Kourtney why she made it, the star said: ”Because I was horny and I felt like it.’
In 2021, discussin gher decision to speak about it at the time, she told Los Angele Times: ‘I do think that, obviously, as producers, I’m sure they loved it.
‘And loved [us] wanting to talk about the elephant in the room. And I probably wouldn’t have, unless it was for the show.’
In 2013, Ray J released his song, I Hit It First, which was written about Kim K and met with backlash.
Criticised for implying he made Kim the star she is today, in 2022 he reflected on the discourse the song sparked, saying: ‘I never said nothin’ negative. I stated facts and we was having fun, as crazy as that sounds.’
There have been claims over the years that it was purposefully leaked as a ‘a complete set up to become famous’.
This has been refuted by those on the Kardashian side.
In a chat on In Bed with Joan, Kris said: ‘I literally fell apart. I had to go into a room and cry…I don’t think anything can prepare you for something like that when it comes to your daughter.’
The Sun claimed that during an interview, Ray J said: ‘Kim and I had fun times, marathon sessions. But she didn’t like getting sweaty and would stop to do her make-up if she did.
‘She liked to look dope during sex, the right lighting, setting the mood. She was wild. There was a red Louis Vuitton trunk of sex toys.’
Kardashian shot back at the allegations on Twitter soon after.
“Oh, shows he’s a pathological liar. It’s too funny to me!’ she wrote.
Ray J then denied ever saying he was ‘focused on my new baby and my wife’.
Kim claimed that her then-husband Kanye West had retrieved a laptop from Ray J which was alleged to contain all sexual videos that she ever filmed with her ex-lover.
Ray J hit back saying Kim was the only one to ever possess the explicit home video, accusaing the mother-daughter duo of leaking it themselves.
‘‘I mean all of this is all a lie. From the beginning of us putting this sex tape out, this has been the biggest lie in the industry in the history of entertainment,’ he claimed.
Metro has reached out to Ray J’s representatives for comment.