A judge ruled Wednesday that attorneys for the mother of Rob Kardashian’s toddler-aged daughter can depose television host Ryan Seacrest regarding the cancellation of the second season of the former couple’s reality show, “Rob & Chyna.”
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Randolph Hammock heard arguments in the case on March 14, then took the case under submission.
“My instinct tells me that he has information about the cancellation of the show,” Hammock said at the time.
Hammock limited the deposition time to a maximum of three hours in one day. He also said the questioning can take place in a location mutually agreeable to the parties, but within 60 days of Wednesday. He said the deposition must be videotaped and a transcript prepared by a court reporter, but that nothing is to be made public afterward.
Seacrest, 44, was an executive producer of “Rob & Chyna,” the same role he has with the Kardashian clan’s show on E!, “Keeping Up With the Kardashians.”
Chyna’s claims against Rob Kardashian, as well as his sisters Kim and Khloe Kardashian and Kylie Jenner and his mother Kris Jenner, include defamation and interference with prospective economic advantage. Chyna alleges the four women falsely claimed she physically abused Rob Kardashian, with whom she once had a romantic relationship.
In her lawsuit, Chyna, whose real name is Angela White, alleges she suffered significant damages and that the scandal caused her reality show with her ex-boyfriend to be canceled by E! She alleges that E! would have granted her a second season of the show but for false statements against her, including alleged comments by the four female defendants to network representatives in late 2016 and early 2017 that she physically abused Rob Kardashian.
Chyna maintains that Seacrest may have information on why the four Kardashian women allegedly wanted the show canceled. Her attorney, Lynne Ciani, said Seacrest and Rob Kardashian exchanged emails about the show’s second season before it was canceled.
But Seacrest’s attorney, Chrystal Jonelis, argued during the May 14 hearing that her client has no “intimate knowledge” about the show’s cancellation and that the information Chyna seeks can best be obtained from other people.
Chyna, 31, and Rob Kardashian, 32, began dating in January 2016 and had a daughter, Dream, that November. They split a month later and she sued her ex, his mother and three of his sisters in October 2017.
In July 2017, he used social media to post photos of Chyna’s naked breasts, backside and genitals. He also accused her of sleeping with another man in “the same bed Chyna and I made our baby in.” He later took down some of the photos.