A Los Angeles jury Monday rejected model Blac Chyna’s defamation lawsuit against members of the Kardashian/Jenner clan — a major victory for the reality TV personalities who were accused of derailing Chyna’s unscripted television career.
Jurors deliberated for a full day Friday and throughout Monday morning, indicating mid-afternoon Monday they had reached a verdict. That verdict sided with the Kardashians and Jenners, with the panel declining to award any damages to Chyna.
Chyna was believed to be seeking more than $100 million in damages. She showed no emotion as the lengthy verdict was read.
The model sued Kim Kardashian, 41, Khloe Kardashian, 37, Kylie Jenner, 24, and their mother, Kris Jenner, 66, alleging defamation and contract interference. Chyna, 33, claimed the women all bad-mouthed her to E! network executives, leading to the cancellation of the “Rob & Chyna” reality show.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Gregory W. Alarcon last week dismissed the defamation claim against Kim Kardashian, ruling there was no evidence that she said anything defamatory about Chyna.
The jury on Monday rejected the remaining claims. The jury foreman said after the verdict that while the testimony of the Kardashian-Jenner defendants all seemed credible to him, he was not so swayed by that of Chyna. He also said that while many of the votes were on a 9-3 margin, there was no tension during the deliberations.
Although Chyna’s attorney, Lynne M. Ciani, clashed with the judge during arguments over various legal issues — some in front of the jury and some not — the foreman said he believed the judge was fair to both sides.
Ciani said she was pleased the jury found that Chyna had not physically abused Rob Kardashian and that all four defendants acted inappropriately regarding Chyna’s contract with the E! network, even though the jury awarded no damages. She said Chyna will appeal on the remaining questions.
Ciani told jurors last week that her client lost money from club appearances, social media and television due to the efforts of the quartet in getting E! network executives to not go forward with a second season of “Rob & Chyna.”
None of the Kardashians or Jenners were in the courtroom when the verdict was read. They were in New York attending the Met Gala. But defense attorney Michael G. Rhodes said he notified the Jenners and Kardashians of the verdict.
“They were very pleased,” Rhodes said. “I will say that they were emphatic in their explanation of pleasure. I’ve gotten to know them very well the last few years, and as you know they are exuberant. So they were exuberant.”
Chyna, whose real name is Angela Renee White, alleged Khloe Kardashian, Kris Jenner and Kylie Jenner made false statements about her having physically assaulted Rob Kardashian, causing her to lose considerable money from the cancellation of the “Rob & Chyna” show — a reality series the model appeared in with former fiancé Rob Kardashian.
Despite the violence the 34-year-old Rob Kardashian maintains occurred the night of Dec. 14, 2016 — which started as a celebration of what they thought was a renewal for a second season of their reality show — Ciani refuted his claims, saying her client never hit him with a 6-foot metal rod or pulled a phone cord around his neck. Chyna has admitted wielding Kardashian’s unloaded gun, but maintains she was being playful.
Rob Kardashian testified last Wednesday he did not report the alleged assault to the sheriff’s department, believing that as the mother of his then- newborn child, he should keep the problems between themselves. The child, Dream Renee, is now 5 years old.
But Ciani said Rob Kardashian’s admission that he left the home on the advice of Kris Jenner’s boyfriend, Corey Gamble, undermines his allegation that Chyna wanted to kill him.
“If he truly believed Chyna tried to murder him, would he have left his (then-)1-year-old daughter with her?” Ciani asked.
Ciani denied repeated defense claims that E! network executives had no choice but to not go ahead with a second season of “Rob & Chyna” on grounds that the Chyna-Rob Kardashian relationship had ended by December 2016.
“That’s not true, they’re real, they have their ups and downs,” Ciani said. She maintains the two broke up in the summer of 2017.
Chyna was unaware what was going on behind the scenes and fully expected there would be a second season of “Rob & Chyna,” Ciani said.
“These executives found out something had happened between Rob and Chyna,” Ciani said, pointing the finger at the defendants.
Rhodes told the jury that while his clients were indeed against a second season of “Rob & Chyna” because of the downturn in the former couple’s relationship, they were not opposed to it being returned to the cable lineup later if the time healed all the wounds.
“They were trying to buy time to save it,” said Rhodes, who told jurors that the Kardashians and Jenners also made money off of the show, which was a spinoff of “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” and received higher ratings, according to Ciani.
Rhodes said that when Gamble reached the former couple’s home — which was provided rent-free to them by Kylie Jenner — he had to pull the fighting parties apart.
“She admits that,” Rhodes said of Chyna.
He argued that Ciani offered no evidence during the trial that Chyna suffered any emotional distress.
In February 2020, Judge Randolph M. Hammock severed from the current suit Chyna’s revenge porn claim against Rob Kardashian and directed that it be tried separately. The claim involves what Chyna’s court papers call “humiliating and degrading” photos that Rob Kardashian allegedly posted of Chyna in July 2017. A separate jury will hear that case.