The legal dispute between Ray J and the Kardashian family took a sharp turn this week after Kim Kardashian and Kris Jenner filed sworn declarations denying his central allegations. Ray J responded by calling their statements outright false, and his mother, Sonja Norwood, stepped forward with a public challenge of her own directed at Jenner.
The conflict centers on the 2007 release of a sex tape recorded by Kim Kardashian and Ray J in 2003 during a trip to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. The tape was distributed by Vivid Entertainment, which has maintained that it obtained the recording from a third party for $1 million. Kardashian sued Vivid at the time for invasion of privacy, then settled the case for $5 million. Ray J has alleged that the release was not accidental and that the Kardashians played a direct role in orchestrating it, claims they have denied repeatedly and now deny under oath.
Kim and Kris file sworn denials
In their declarations, both Kardashian and Jenner rejected Ray J’s version of events in direct terms. Kardashian addressed his accusations about a coordinated plan to release the tape and generate publicity, calling those claims false. Jenner pushed back against the suggestion that she managed the tape’s release as a business decision, describing the allegations as not only untrue but deeply offensive and something that has affected her for decades.
Jenner also addressed broader accusations Ray J has made in recent filings, including claims about federal investigations, which she denied. She described his conduct toward her daughter over the years as a prolonged pattern of public harassment.
The declarations were filed as part of a defamation lawsuit Kardashian and Jenner brought against Ray J. The suit argues that his ongoing public statements about the tape and its release have crossed into legally actionable territory. Kardashian has also noted in filings that the accusations could interfere with her goal of becoming a licensed attorney.
Ray J says his children are his reason for fighting back
Ray J has not retreated. He maintains that he, Kardashian, Jenner and executives from Vivid were all present in the same room during discussions about the tape’s distribution. He also claims that Kim and Ray J each received $400,000 as part of a deal covering three recordings, two made in Cabo and one made in Santa Barbara. He has alleged that Jenner directed the production of the Santa Barbara recording.
Beyond the legal claims, Ray J has framed the fight in personal terms. He has two young children and has said he will not allow a narrative to persist that portrays him as someone who intentionally harmed another person. That motivation, he has indicated, is what is keeping him in the fight regardless of how long it takes.
Ray J filed a countersuit against Kardashian and Jenner, alleging they violated a prior settlement agreement that restricted all parties from making public statements about the tape. The countersuit includes additional claims about the circumstances of the tape’s release and the financial arrangements surrounding it.
Sonja Norwood enters the dispute publicly
Ray J’s mother made her position clear in a social media post that went directly at Jenner. Norwood wrote that after reading the sworn declarations and the public statements that followed, she was no longer willing to stay silent while her son was attacked online over a matter that she believes has been misrepresented for years.
Her central question was pointed. If Jenner did not orchestrate the tape’s commercial release, Norwood asked, then who did? She framed her involvement as a moral commitment rather than a legal one, describing a long journey toward what she characterized as the truth and suggesting the family would pursue that path regardless of how difficult or prolonged it becomes.
Jenner and Kardashian’s legal team has continued pushing back in court. Both sides appear prepared for an extended fight, and with sworn declarations now in the record, the stakes of what comes next have risen considerably.
Source: TMZ
