Kim Kardashian and Kris Jenner have “at least minimal merit” to continue suing Ray J for defamation, according to a Los Angeles judge.
In a Tuesday (Aug. 11) ruling, obtained by Billboard, Judge Steven A. Ellis rejected Ray J’s motion to outright dismiss the libel claims brought by the famous mother-daughter duo last fall. The judge set a trial for 2028, although Ray J’s lawyers intend to keep trying to end the case through an appeal in the meantime.
Kardashian and Jenner allege in the lawsuit that the R&B singer (William Ray Norwood Jr.) defamed them by falsely stating in a TMZ documentary and Twitch livestream that they were being criminally investigated for racketeering. The mother and daughter said this was just “the latest salvo in a deliberate and malicious campaign of harassment” waged for years by Ray J, who dated Kardashian in the early 2000s.
Ray J sought to throw out the case under California’s anti-SLAPP statute, which provides a path to quickly end meritless defamation claims that threaten free speech. Among other arguments, the singer asserted that Kardashian and Jenner could not possibly prove he intentionally lied on the TMZ and Twitch broadcasts, a legal standard known as “actual malice.”
Ray J’s reasoning there was creative and distinctly modern: He argued that he genuinely believed the Kardashian family was guilty of racketeering because ChatGPT told him so. However, Judge Ellis was not convinced that this was enough to end the case right now.
“The court recognizes that artificial intelligence technology is advancing rapidly, but at least as of the time of defendant’s use of ChatGPT (in the period of August and September 2025), it was not a trustworthy or reliable source of legal advice. Or, at the least, a jury could so find,” wrote the judge. “Plaintiffs burden is to present evidence showing that there is a probability that they can produce clear and convincing evidence of actual malice. On this record, the court concludes that plaintiffs have met that burden.”
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Judge Ellis concluded that Kardashian and Jenner have put forth enough evidence at this point to meet the standard of “minimal merit” and move past the anti-SLAPP phase. He emphasized, though, that this is by no means an official determination of wrongdoing on Ray J’s part: “The court need not, and cannot, predict what findings a jury will ultimately make,” wrote the judge.
Ray J’s attorney, Howard King, said in a Wednesday (Aug. 12) statement that his team “will promptly appeal the ruling, which failed to recognize Ray J’s First Amendment right to publish his opinion about the despicable behavior of Kim Kardashian.”
“The appeal freezes the proceedings, so it is unlikely there will be a trial anytime soon or ever,” added King.
A rep for Kardashian and Jenner did not immediately return a request for comment.
Kardashian and Jenner initiated the lawsuit in October 2025, represented by powerhouse litigator Alex Spiro and a team from his firm Quinn Emanuel. Ray J quickly fired back with a bombshell countersuit that alleged the mother and daughter intentionally released his and Kardashian’s infamous 2007 sex tape in pursuit of fame.
Both Kardashian and Jenner strongly denied those claims as “utterly false and disgusting.” Judge Ellis ruled in April that Ray J’s allegations about the sex tape must be dealt with in confidential arbitration under the terms of a previous settlement agreement. The judge thus booted the counterclaims out of court, to be handled instead by a private arbitrator.
