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Last year, Ray J leveled wild and defamatory claims at a couple of the Kardashians.

Kris Jenner and Kim Kardashian sued, and the rapper countersued.

He says that the two of them have been badmouthing him for years over the release of Kim’s sex tape. And he has also accused them of perjury related to the tape’s release.

It turns out that this was a settled matter — because all of the parties involved signed a $6 million settlement in 2023.

This was a settled matter … until it wasn’t

Back in April of 2023, Kim and Ray J worked out and signed a secret settlement.

Kris Jenner was involved. And so, too, was Sonja Norwood — Ray J’s mom.

TMZ obtained a copy of “Confidential Settlement Agreement and Mutual General Release.”

“The parties have agreed to enter this agreement addressing all past, current, or future claims, disputes, causes of action, defenses, and alleged losses,” the agreement reads.

The agreement continues: “Including without limitation, all claims and defenses arising out of or concerning the subject matter of the sex tape.”

Within the document, Ray J agrees to not hold Hulu or Disney responsible for anything that comes up on The Kardashians.

Interestingly, another provision says that neither side shall “disparage or impugn the character, reputation, integrity, honesty, business, or business practices” of the other.

That’s odd, since just under two and a half years after this, Ray J made wild and unsubstantiated “RICO” allegations against Kim and Kris.

Announcing to the world that people are under federal investigation or are otherwise master criminals is grounds for a defamation suit under many circumstances.

But this document suggests that Ray J had already agreed in writing to not disparage Kim … only to do just that with a defamatory claim.

Who’s right? That’s kinda complicated

Ray J has mentioned this agreement. He brought it up in his countersuit to their defamation lawsuit.

He said that he received $6 million as part of the deal.

There would, he said, be financial penalties if he broke the agreement — but also if Kim or Kris did.

Here is where the legal question comes into play: he says that he didn’t break it, but that they did.

Ray J says that The Kardashians included discussion of the sex tape only one month after the deal was finalized.

We hate to just shrug and say that this matter is up to the lawyers and the courts. It’s always more fun to be able to predict the outcome of a legal battle.

But, in this case, there are a lot of details and matters of law in play.

For example, is Ray J saying that the Hulu series aired an episode on the topic of the sex tape just a month after signing the agreement?

Because hopefully most people know that reality TV films months before it airs. The Kardashians has a faster turnaround than most, but not by much. Many shows film 8 months to a year in advance.

If he’s saying that they filmed an episode right after, he might have a much more solid argument.

Where is public sympathy?

It’s often difficult to gauge where public sympathies lie.

Often, people make light of Kim’s suffering, even when very bad things — like the Paris robbery or Kanye West’s Hitler fanfest era — are happening to her.

(She is not overall a very sympathetic person, whether she’s saying cruel things or parroting harmful misinformation or promoting slop tech.)

But there are situations where many people feel sorry for her. This — the sex tape and how this one story won’t go away — seems to be one of them.

It is possible that this court case could shift opinions on Kim. But we kind of doubt it.