Why Ray J's Mom Sonja Norwood Once Sued Kim Kardashian
To say that Kim Kardashian and Ray J have a long (and by long, we mean loooong) history would be an understatement. The reality star and the singer dated for over half a decade in the early aughts, had one of their sex tapes released to the public, and to this day, remain embroiled in a he-said, she-said situation regarding the untimely (or was it?) release of said tape.
Apparently, it's not just Ray J who has quite a history with the Kardashians. His sister, Brandy, once employed Kim as her stylist and closet manager and Khloe Kardashian as her personal assistant. It's unclear whether they worked together before and after Kim dated Ray J, but what's certain is that the Kardashians and the Norwoods were tight once upon a time.
Even Sonja Norwood, Ray J and Brandy's mother, appeared to be chummy with the famous family — right up until she sued them and accused them of using her credit card without her consent.
Sonja Norwood accused Kim, Khloe, and Rob Kardashian of credit card theft
Before the Kardashians were considered the first family of Hollywood, they were normal folks just like the rest of us. They, too, had worked for other people, with one of their employers being the Norwoods. But their professional relationship soured when the family matriarch, Sonja Norwood, filed a lawsuit against Kim Kardashian, alleging that the SKIMS founder racked up thousands of dollars worth of charges on her American Express card when she was only asked to make a single purchase. Per TMZ, the lawsuit also alleged that Khloe and Rob Kardashian were in on it, too, and that it happened not only once — but twice. In 2006, the Kardashian siblings supposedly charged over $62,000 to the card and more than $57,000 the following year, totaling over $120,000 in fraudulent charges. The charges were also reportedly made at the siblings' DASH stores.
The Kardashians were quick to deny the claims, telling the outlet that the charges against them were "meritless." Meanwhile, Norwood shared in a statement that Ray J and Brandy tried to convince her not to involve the law in the matter, to which she obliged initially, especially after the siblings "apologized profusely" and promised to pay what they had owed. But they apparently didn't follow through, forcing Norwood to take legal action.
The case was then settled out of court in 2009, with People reporting that the lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice, meaning Norwood cannot file the same claim again.
She came to Ray J's defense at the height of the sex tape-gate, too
If Kris Jenner is Kim Kardashian's momager, Sonja Norwood is Ray J's defender. In an appearance on "The Wendy Williams Show" in 2010, Norwood didn't mince her words when the topic of her son's sex tape with Kim was brought up. She admitted that she was incredibly disappointed in Ray J as she always reminded him that "what you don't want people to see, you don't do, regardless of how much you love someone." But she also called out the Kardashians for capitalizing on the issue, leaving Ray J to blame for the leak. Norwood added that it's "all business" at the end of the day and expressed frustration over how people were quick to point their fingers at her son. "With all the hoopla with it being Ray J and people trying to blame him, did you see him on the cover of Playgirl?" she continued. "Did you see him in the centerfold of Playgirl?"
That was the first and last time Norwood addressed the sex tape scandal publicly, but over a decade later, Ray J appeared to echo what his mom had said — at least the claim that it was just business. "I've never leaked anything. I have never leaked a sex tape in my life. It has never been a leak," the singer told the Daily Mail. "It's always been a deal and a partnership between Kris Jenner and Kim and me and we've always been partners since the beginning of this thing."