Los Angeles, CA – November 14, 2025 – In a dramatic turn in a legal saga that has simmered for nearly two decades, R&B singer Ray J, born William Ray Norwood Jr., has filed a scathing cross-complaint against reality TV moguls Kim Kardashian and Kris Jenner. The filing, lodged Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court, accuses the mother-daughter duo of breaching a confidential 2023 settlement agreement tied to their infamous 2007 sex tape, while also reviving explosive allegations that Jenner orchestrated its release as a calculated publicity stunt. This countersuit comes just weeks after Kardashian and Jenner slapped Ray J with a defamation lawsuit over his public hints at federal racketeering charges against them, marking yet another chapter in a feud that has captivated tabloids and fueled endless speculation about the origins of Kardashian's rise to fame.
The cross-complaint, reviewed by multiple outlets including Entertainment Weekly and TMZ, paints a picture of betrayal, broken promises, and a meticulously crafted "false narrative" that Ray J claims has damaged his reputation for years. Represented by veteran attorney Howard King, Ray J alleges that the agreement—reached after his own 2023 lawsuit against the pair—explicitly barred any public discussion of the tape, including on their Hulu series The Kardashians. Yet, he claims, the family violated it almost immediately, airing episodes laden with references to the scandal just one month after inking the deal. "Mother and daughter have spent two decades peddling the false story that the sex tape... was leaked against her will," King's filing states bluntly, asserting that Ray J is now "furious that Norwood no longer wants to play along with their tall tale."
To understand the depth of this dispute, it's essential to rewind to the tape's origins. Ray J and Kardashian, then 22, dated on-and-off from 2002 to 2006, a period marked by tabloid frenzy. In 2003, the couple filmed an explicit video during a vacation in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico—what Ray J's suit describes as a "consensual" recording made "mutually" with full awareness. Fast-forward to 2006: With Paris Hilton's own leaked tape still fresh in the cultural zeitgeist—propelling her from socialite to superstar—Ray J alleges Kardashian saw an opportunity. According to the complaint, she "insisted" that Jenner, the family's shrewd "momager," oversee the tape's "release and commercial exploitation." Jenner allegedly reviewed both the Cabo footage and a second tape shot in Santa Barbara, California, before the group "collectively decided" to shop it to adult entertainment giant Vivid Entertainment.
Vivid released the video as Kim Kardashian, Superstar in February 2007, catapulting Kardashian into the spotlight. It reportedly generated millions in sales, but the narrative spun publicly was one of victimhood: Kardashian claimed she was blindsided, filing a $35 million lawsuit against Vivid for unauthorized distribution—only to settle out of court for an undisclosed sum, widely rumored to be lucrative. Ray J's filing calls this "a bogus lawsuit" designed purely "to create buzz," with Kardashian's denials of consent amounting to "lies" that have haunted him ever since. He further accuses the family of portraying him as a villain on The Kardashians, including false claims of sexual assault (alleging he filmed her while asleep), revenge porn, and extortion—narratives that, he says, prompted his initial 2023 legal action.
That 2023 suit stemmed from season 3 of The Kardashians, where Kardashian, Jenner, ex-husband Kanye West (now Ye), and daughter Kendall Jenner allegedly dredged up the tape for dramatic effect. Ray J claims this was a deliberate "fresh fake Sex Tape 'controversy'" to hype the show's Hulu launch, violating promotional boundaries and reigniting old wounds. Mediation followed, culminating in what Ray J describes as a comprehensive settlement: Kardashian paid him $6 million, and all parties—including Jenner and their production company—agreed to "refrain from any further public reference to the Sex Tape," encompassing mentions on The Kardashians. The deal also prohibited mutual disparagement and declared it a "settlement of all past, current, or future disputes," with a $1 million penalty for breaches, to be resolved via private arbitration.
But Ray J alleges the ink was barely dry before violations occurred. Just one month later, two episodes of season 3 aired, featuring "multiple references" to the tape from Kardashian, Jenner, West, and Kendall. When confronted, the suit claims, Kardashian and Jenner "insisted" the agreement didn't apply retroactively to pre-filmed content and "tried to coax" Ray J into signing an amendment excusing the episodes—which he refused. This, Ray J argues, constitutes a "material and substantial breach," entitling him to the full $1 million penalty, plus attorney's fees and a judicial declaration dismissing or limiting Kardashian and Jenner's ongoing suit against him.
The countersuit doesn't stop at contract disputes; it veers into high-stakes territory by invoking the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. Ray J draws "parallels" between the federal anti-racketeering statute—famously used against figures like Sean "Diddy" Combs—and what he calls the duo's "conspiracy with Vivid to release and lie about the Sex Tape," as well as a supposed plot to "trick him into signing the Agreement before broadcasting further content." He admits to mulling his own civil RICO claim and even speculated about criminal prosecution, which he says inspired his now-infamous comments that sparked the defamation suit. In a May 2025 TMZ interview for the Tubi docuseries United States vs. Sean Combs, Ray J quipped, "If you told me the Kardashians was being charged for racketeering, I might believe it." He escalated during a September 24 Twitch livestream with Chrisean Rock, declaring, "The federal RICO I'm about to drop on Kris and Kim is 'bout to be crazy... The feds is coming."
Those remarks prompted Kardashian and Jenner's October 1 defamation and false-light publicity lawsuit, filed by powerhouse attorney Alex Spiro (who represents clients like Elon Musk and Johnny Depp). They described Ray J's statements as a "sustained campaign of harassment and defamation," born of his inability to "accept the end of his fleeting relationship" with Kardashian and a bid to "exploit their prominence for personal gain." The suit seeks unspecified damages over $35,000, a jury trial, and highlights the "reputational harm" to their brands—Kardashian's SKIMS empire and Jenner's management of a family worth billions. Spiro emphasized in a statement: "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." No federal RICO probe exists, the filing stresses, and Ray J's claims lack "credible evidence."
In response to Ray J's countersuit, Spiro dismissed it as "this disjointed rambling distraction [that] is not intimidating anyone. Ray J will lose this frivolous case too," according to statements to Entertainment Weekly and Billboard. Representatives for Ray J declined comment, but the filing portrays their October suit not as legitimate grievance but "propaganda" and a "weaponiz[ation of] the judicial system" for "publicity, power, and punishment."
This isn't the first time the tape has resurfaced in court. Ray J first alleged Jenner's involvement in 2022, claiming she "orchestrated" the release—a charge Jenner denied during a polygraph test on The Late Late Show with James Corden, where she insisted Vivid stole the video. Public discourse has only intensified: On X (formerly Twitter), reactions range from skepticism—"So now he's peddling a different story," one user noted, referencing Ray J's past claims that Jenner even "directed" the taping—to outright support for his narrative of a "business decision driven by fame." Legal experts, speaking anonymously to Variety, predict a protracted battle through discovery, where emails, contracts, and episode footage could become public, potentially exposing more about the Kardashian machine.
The implications extend beyond personal grudges. This case spotlights evolving conversations around consent, revenge porn laws (strengthened post-#MeToo), and the blurred lines between reality TV scripting and real-life trauma. For Ray J, whose career peaked with hits like "One Wish" but has since pivoted to reality ventures and activism, it's a bid for vindication after years as the "dirty guy." For Kardashian and Jenner, it's a defense of a brand built on resilience narratives, now worth an estimated $1.8 billion combined. As pre-trial motions loom, one thing is clear: This "tall tale," as Ray J calls it, refuses to fade quietly.
