LOS ANGELES—A Los Angeles Superior Court judge issued a legal victory for Kim Kardashian and Kris Jenner on Friday, setting a trial date to review claims of defamation against singer Ray J while simultaneously sending the countersuit by the R&B star claiming breach of contract to private arbitration.
This is only the latest chapter of litigation between Kardashian and Jenner against Ray J, also known as William Ray Norwood, Jr., over claims that the mother-daughter reality TV duo purposefully leaked the sex tape Kim Kardashian, Superstar back in 2007 to Vivid Entertainment.
Kardashian and Jenner filed suit in October 2025. Ray J filed suit in November 2025. Per recent court documents, supplemented by coverage by Rolling Stone, the court judge in the countersuit brought by Ray J set a post-arbitration status conference for February 9, 2027. The trial date for the defamation lawsuit is March 6, 2028.
"We expected the court to rule in our favor, and we're pleased with the decision," said Alex Spiro, the attorney for Kardashian and Jenner, in a statement to TMZ.
For nearly two decades, Kardashian has maintained that the sex tape was released without her consent.
TMZ reported at the time of the countersuit that Ray J alleges he and Kardashian produced the sex tape consensually at some point in 2003, then waited until 2006 to discuss releasing the tape, with Kardashian insisting that her mother be in charge of its commercial release.
Claims of the leak by Kardashian and Jenner stem from a book by Ian Halperin, a Canadian investigative journalist, released in April 2016. The book is titled
