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Kim Kardashian and Kris Jenner achieved a partial legal victory on Friday: A judge set a trial date for their defamation lawsuit against Ray J – and at the same time referred his competing breach of contract lawsuit to private arbitration.
The mother-daughter duo filed a lawsuit in October 2025, accusing Ray J, real name Ray Norwood Jr., of maliciously defaming them. Specifically, he is said to have suggested in a TMZ interview from 2025 and in a subsequent livestream that Kardashian and Jenner were the subject of a federal organized crime investigation. Or should be. Norwood has denied the allegation of malice and filed a counterclaim on November 13, 2025 for breach of a settlement agreement.
Norwood’s counterclaims relate to a settlement from April 2023 that included a non-disparagement clause. The settlement was preceded by Kardashian’s statements in a 2022 episode of “The Kardashians” in which she accused Norwood of sexual abuse, the distribution of revenge pornography and attempted blackmail. Norwood threatened legal action, and as part of the private settlement, Kardashian agreed to pay $6 million and not make any public references to the sex tape on the show, according to his countersuit.
Norwood’s counterclaim and the contract dispute
According to Norwood, Kardashian and Jenner – along with Kanye West and Kendall Jenner – discussed the video on another episode of “The Kardashians” a month after the contract was signed, thereby violating the agreement. He pointed out to them what he viewed as a material breach of contract; They then explained that the agreement did not apply to season three because it was filmed before the contract came into force.
Norwood’s attorney, Heather Pickerell, argued at Friday’s hearing that if Norwood’s claims had to go to arbitration, then Kardashian and Jenner’s defamation lawsuits would have to go there too. “Plaintiffs must not be allowed to circumvent a non-disparagement clause by disguising their claim as a defamation lawsuit,” Pickerell said. “This is a unique agreement expressly drafted to govern all disputes…The agreement effectively covers all future disputes between the parties.”
Alex Bergjans, Kardashian and Jenner’s lawyer, saw it differently. “A violation of the non-disparagement clause does not require untruth. A defamation claim requires Falsehood,” he explained, “which is why you can file a defamation lawsuit in court while simultaneously asserting a breach of contract for non-disparagement in private arbitration.”
Judge rules in favor of Kardashian
After listening to both sides and taking a few hours to think about it, the judge issued a verdict in favor of Kardashian and her mother that afternoon.
“The obligation [Kardashian und Jenner] “The court grants plaintiffs Kimberly Kardashian and Kris Jenner’s motion to refer defendant’s counterclaim to arbitration.”
The judge scheduled a post-arbitration status conference for February 9, 2027 and set March 6, 2028 as the trial date for the two women’s defamation lawsuits. Norwood’s lead attorney, Howard King, did not respond to a request for comment late Friday.
Background: Kim Kardashian and Ray J
Norwood and Kardashian were in a relationship in the early 2000s and appeared together in a sex tape recorded in 2003 and released by Vivid Entertainment in 2007. The company has always stated that it legally purchased the video from a third party. The video’s release coincided with the premiere of Keeping Up With the Kardashians on E! in 2007.
