By ANDREW DALTON, Associated Press Entertainment Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Kim Kardashian and her mother, Kris Jenner, are suing her ex-boyfriend Ray J for saying they are under federal investigation and on the verge of being indicted.
The defamation lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Wednesday by the reality TV stars and businesspeople 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 that he was working with federal investigators on a racketeering case against them that will soon lead to their indictment.
The lawsuit says Ray J’s 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 says.
The women say two recent statements crossed a line and forced a lawsuit.
The court filing points to a TMZ special that aired in May, in which 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 that according to the lawsuit had millions of viewers, saying, “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 gave 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 says.
Ray J is a singer, actor and brother to pop star Brandy. But he probably remains 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 says the “media storm” set off by the comments has caused them reputational and financial damages that will be established at trial.
Kardashian and Jenner are represented in the case by attorney Alex Spiro, who has become a go-to lawyer for prominent figures and led the team that got charges against Alec Baldwin dismissed in the middle of his trial.
