Kim Kardashian and her mother Kris Jenner have filed a lawsuit against singer Ray J after he claimed he was working with federal authorities to build a RICO case against them.
The lawsuit, filed this week, accuses Ray J of spreading “blatantly false” statements and launching a campaign of lies to damage their reputation.
“Unable to accept the end of his fleeting relationship with Ms. Kardashian over 20 years ago, Ray J has repeatedly sought to attach himself to Plaintiffs’ names and exploit their prominence for personal gain,” the court papers state.
In May, Ray J appeared in a documentary where he suggested that racketeering charges against the Kardashians “would be appropriate.” He later repeated the claims during a livestream, saying, “The federal RICO I’m about to drop on Kim and Kris is about to be crazy… The feds is coming.”
The Kardashians’ legal team strongly denied the allegations, saying, “No such federal investigation exists, no law enforcement agency has initiated any criminal proceedings or investigations related to racketeering.”
Their attorney Alex Spiro said the lawsuit was necessary to protect the family’s name. “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 explained.
Ray J, 44, has a long history with Kardashian, including their infamous early 2000s sex tape. In recent years, he has publicly clashed with the family, accusing Jenner of being behind the leak of the footage — a claim she has denied.
Kardashian, 44, and Jenner, 69, say this lawsuit aims to end years of harassment. “We bring this action to hold Ray J accountable… and to seek redress for the substantial harm his malicious conduct has caused to our reputations, livelihoods and emotional well-being,” they said in the filing.
The case comes as RICO laws — originally created to tackle organized crime — remain in the spotlight following rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs’ high-profile trial earlier this year.
