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Ray J has claimed that Kris Jenner watched three sex tapes that he purportedly filmed with her daughter, Kim Kardashian, before hand-picking the one that would be publicly released.
The exes, both 41, dated from 2002 to 2006 and reportedly filmed the sex tape during Kardashian's birthday celebrations in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, in 2004. It was released under the name Kim Kardashian, Superstar in 2007.
Over the years, there have been persistent rumors that matriarch Jenner orchestrated the release of Kardashian's sex tape in a bid to boost her profile.
This was addressed during Thursday's installment of The Late Late Show With James Corden, where Jenner made an appearance alongside her daughter, Kylie Jenner.
During a segment in which Jenner sat for a polygraph test, she was asked whether she had a hand in the release of the tape, sparking a gasp among those on the show.
"It's OK, no, no," Jenner answered. After the man running the test confirmed that she was telling the truth, she said: "We cleared that up."
However, Ray J disputed the events and shared a series of Instagram posts over the weekend, in which he threatened to sue talk show host James Corden, as well as Jenner and Kardashian, for defamation.
In a 44-minute video posted on the image-sharing platform, the "One Wish" singer, real name William Ray Norwood Jr., said that he and Kardashian shot one tape in Mexico and another in Santa Barbara, California. He also claimed there was a third tape labeled "Intro."
He also showed his social media followers his original contract with the adult entertainment distributor, which he signed to give Vivid the rights. Ray J also compared Kardashian's handwritten note to the writing on the contract in an effort to prove his allegations that they were the same.
Elsewhere, the Mississippi-born musician scrolled through a series of text messages that he said were exchanged with Kardashian's ex-husband, Kanye West, over the existence of another tape, which it was recently feared would be released.
In September 2021, there was a talk by Ray J's former manager Wack 100 of a second sex tape. This was covered on the premiere episode of Kardashian's Hulu reality show The Kardashians, where West was seen in possession of the retrieved tape, which Kardashian later revealed contained "nothing sexual, nothing weird."
During his purported text conversation with West, Ray J discussed the "contracts" between him and Kardashian. He also alleged that Kardashian and Jenner signed his name for him on the contract.
"You thought you won it all!!" Ray J captioned one of the posts aimed at Jenner and Kardashian, in part. "But you are about to lose."
Newsweek has contacted representatives of Kardashian, Jenner, West, and Corden for comment.
Ray J has previously admitted that he was inspired by Paris Hilton's sex tape with Rick Salomon when he suggested the idea to Kardashian of leaking their own recording to boost their profiles. He has long maintained that Jenner was also involved in orchestrating its release.
In 2017, Steve Hirsch, president of Vivid Entertainment, which released the tape, stated that the deal was not brokered by Kardashian or Jenner and maintained that Kardashian fought against its release.
"It was that these people had the footage and were looking to sell it," he told Page Six, though he did not reveal the identity of the party looking to sell the tape.
Hirsch called rumors that Jenner orchestrated the release "nonsense" but author and another ex of Ray J, Karrine Steffans, also quoted in the same article said both Kardashian and Ray J would have had to sign off for the tape to ever be release.
"In order for that tape to come out, Kim would have had to have signed off on it, period. That's just the way that works ... Steve Hirsch would never have gone against that if he didn't have signatures."
Vivid Entertainment said at the time of the tape's release that the tape was purchased from a "third party" for $1 million.
Before the release of the tape, Kardashian sued Vivid Entertainment for invasion of privacy and for the profits from and ownership of the tape. However, she dropped the suit weeks after the tape's 2007 release and settled for $5 million.
Ray J is no stranger to calling out the famous reality family, and earlier this year slammed them for allegedly using him to create drama for a storyline about the tape on The Kardashians.
Even though the sex tape no longer defines Kardashian's career, she was seen grappling with the prospect of her four children being exposed to the tape online.
Viewers watched Kardashian in tears after West delivered her a hard drive said to be from Ray J, which allegedly contained unreleased footage of the reality star's infamous tape.
Following the broadcast, Ray J disputed the events in the episode, calling them "a lie."
About the writer
Ryan Smith is a Newsweek Senior Pop Culture and Entertainment Reporter based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on ... Read more