Ray J‘s legal battle with Kim Kardashian and Kris Jenner is moving forward after a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge rejected his attempt to have their defamation case dismissed.
According to court documents obtained by TMZ, the judge denied Ray J’s effort to throw out defamation and false light claims brought against him by Kim and Kris.
The case stems from statements Ray J made publicly about the mother-daughter duo, including claims that they were connected to a federal racketeering investigation and comments comparing the alleged situation to Diddy.
Ray J has denied defaming Kim or Kris, arguing that his remarks were opinions. The judge, however, found that questions remain about whether some of his statements could be understood as factual claims.
And now, the legal fight is headed toward the next stage.
Kim Kardashian and Kris Jenner sued Ray J after he made a series of public statements about them.
Among the statements at issue were Ray J’s claims that Kim and Kris were involved in some type of federal racketeering investigation and his suggestion that the situation would be worse than the legal troubles surrounding Diddy.
Ray J denied that his comments amounted to defamation.
His defense included an argument that some of his statements were exaggerated opinions rather than factual assertions.
He also said some remarks were made during a livestream after he believed he had signed off, only to realize that the stream was apparently still active.
The judge was not persuaded that the claims should be dismissed at this stage.
According to the court ruling, a reasonable person could interpret at least some of Ray J’s statements as assertions of fact.
The judge also found that there was an open question about whether Ray J knew the livestream remained active when he made the remarks.
Those unresolved issues were enough for the court to allow Kim and Kris’ claims to continue.
The ruling does not determine that Ray J defamed Kim or Kris.
Instead, it means the claims survived his attempt to have them thrown out before trial.
The case is currently scheduled for trial in May 2028.
Ray J’s attorney, Howard King, said his client intends to appeal the ruling.
“We will promptly appeal the ruling,” King told TMZ, arguing that the decision failed to recognize Ray J’s First Amendment right to express his opinion about Kim Kardashian.
King also said the appeal would freeze the proceedings, making it unlikely that the scheduled 2028 trial will take place.
That appeal could therefore become the next major development in the case.
The dispute between Ray J, Kim Kardashian and Kris Jenner extends beyond the defamation claims.
Ray J also filed a countersuit against Kim and Kris concerning a confidential 2023 agreement related to his infamous sex tape with Kim.
According to Ray J’s countersuit, the agreement required the parties to refrain from discussing the tape.
He claims Kim and Kris agreed to pay him $6 million as part of the arrangement.
Ray J alleges that the agreement was breached when Kim and Kris discussed the sex tape on their Hulu reality show.
That separate case remains pending.
It is important to distinguish the two legal battles.
The latest ruling concerns only the defamation and false light claims that Kim and Kris brought against Ray J.
It does not decide Ray J’s separate countersuit against them.
The court’s decision therefore keeps one side of the broader dispute moving while the other case remains unresolved.
The ruling is significant because it allows Kim and Kris’ claims to proceed rather than ending the case before trial.
At the heart of the dispute is the difference between protected opinion and potentially actionable statements of fact.
Ray J’s legal team maintains that his comments were protected expressions of opinion.
The judge, however, determined that a reasonable person could view some of the statements as factual and that questions surrounding the livestream remain unresolved.
That does not mean Kim and Kris have prevailed on their claims.
It simply means Ray J was unable to convince the court to dismiss them at this stage.
His planned appeal could now determine whether the case continues toward the currently scheduled trial.
The legal dispute has placed three people with a long and complicated public history back into the courtroom.
Ray J and Kim Kardashian have been connected publicly for decades, while Kris Jenner has remained closely involved in the family’s business and media empire.
What began with statements made publicly has now developed into multiple legal claims involving defamation, alleged contractual obligations and the parties’ competing versions of what was agreed upon.
For now, neither side has received a final ruling on all of those issues.
Ray J’s attempt to end Kim Kardashian and Kris Jenner’s defamation case has been rejected, keeping the legal battle alive.
His attorney says an appeal is coming, meaning the fight could move to another legal stage before the currently scheduled May 2028 trial.
