Ray J sued by Kim Kardashian and Kris Jenner

Photo Credit: Ray J by Glenn Francis / CC by 3.0

Kim Kardashian and Kris Jenner are suing R&B singer Ray J with allegations of defamation when he claimed they were under a federal investigation.

R&B singer Ray J is facing a defamation lawsuit filed by Kim Kardashian and her mother Kris Jenner, who allege he defamed them when he claimed they were under a federal RICO investigation. The lawsuit claims Ray J has attempted to exploit the Kardashians’ fame ever since his “fleeting relationship” with Kim ended 20 years ago.

According to the filing, Ray J suggested that the Kardashians should be criminally investigated in a TMZ special in May, in which he stated that racketeering charges would be “appropriate.” He brought the topic up again on a September 24th livestream in which he said, “The federal RICO I’m about to drop on Kris and Kim is about to be crazy,” adding that “the feds are coming.”

“Ray J’s public statements are blatantly false,” reads the lawsuit. “No such federal investigation exists. […] Ray’s conduct represents an egregious abuse of social media and public platforms to weaponize lies about nonexistent criminal investigations while fully aware that such allegations, even when baseless, carry the power to damage Plaintiffs’ livelihoods and hard-earned reputations.”

Ray J, whose legal name is William Ray Norwood Jr., dated Kim Kardashian in the early 2000s. A sex tape of the couple that surfaced online is widely believed to have directly contributed to the rise of the Kardashians’ fame as reality stars. Ray J has long alleged that multiple versions of the tape existed, and that Kris Jenner carefully orchestrated which one would be leaked to the public.

Kris and Kim’s lawsuit alleges that Ray J has been publicly attacking their family for over two decades in efforts to “attach himself to the plaintiffs’ names and exploit their prominence for personal gain.” Further, they claim the singer is motivated to lie in order to stay relevant, arguing that he is “utterly forgotten as a figure without the Kardashians.”

The complaint seeks unspecified monetary damages, with the exact amount to be determined at trial. Kardashian and Jenner are represented by attorney Alex Spiro, who said in a statement to Billboard that his clients “have never brought a defamation claim before, nor have they been distracted by noise—but this false and serious allegation left no choice.”