In Blac Chyna’s $100 million slander case, the Kardashians come out on top

In former reality TV star Blac Chyna’s case against the Kardashian family, a jury granted them a resounding victory on Monday, May 2.

Chyna, a model, influencer, Rob Kardashian’s ex-fiancée, and the mother of his 5-year-old daughter Dream, sued the Kardashians, claiming they wrecked her reality TV career.

In 2016, E! aired a single season of “Rob & Chyna.” Chyna’s lawsuit claimed that the show was terminated after its first season because the Kardashian family allegedly told producers and network executives that Chyna physically assaulted Rob Kardashian in December 2016. Even though filming was ongoing, the Kardashians and E! officials testified that the show was never officially greenlit for a second season, therefore there was nothing to cancel.

Kris Jenner, 66, Kylie Jenner, 24, and Khloé Kardashian, 37, were found not guilty of defaming Blac Chyna or interfering with her contract by forcing the E! network to cancel her reality program “Rob & Chyna” after a nine-day trial.

Kim Kardashian, Kris Jenner, Khloé Kardashian, and Kylie Jenner, the four Kardashian defendants, were present for practically the whole trial, but when the verdict was read, they were all in New York for the Met Gala, which this year’s theme was “Gilded Glamour.”

While the jury found that some of the Kardashians acted to protect their own economic interests, the foreperson of the jury noted that their actions either did not prevent the performance of Chyna’s contract with E! regarding the reality show Rob & Chyna or were not a significant factor in causing harm to Chyna. Chyna was not awarded any damages by the jury.

Throughout the 10-day trial, text messages and emails were produced as evidence, representing the Kardashians speaking adversely about Chyna and informing E! that if Chyna was involved, they might cease filming “Keeping Up With the Kardashians.” “We are even considering not pushing forward with our show if theirs continues, that’s how deeply we feel this is hurtful to our family,” Khloé Kardashian wrote in a text. When Kris Jenner testified, however, she stated that she did not have the authority to “influence” the network’s decision to cancel the show.

The case stemmed from Chyna’s 2017 complaint, in which she claimed Rob Kardashian was abusive and that the Kardashian-Jenners were to blame for the cancellation of their short-lived reality show. Chyna filed a lawsuit against her entire family, alleging slander, abuse, battery, domestic violence, and interference with future business contacts. The Kardashians reacted to the allegations with their own lawsuit in the same year, stating that Chyna was the one who assaulted Rob Kardashian.

The Kardashians’ attorney, Michael G. Rhodes, filed a motion to dismiss all of Chyna’s claims, claiming that her assertions “were ludicrous because there was no photographic evidence, economic analysis, or expert witness that would support them.” One of Chyna’s defamation allegations against Kim Kardashian was dismissed by the judge, who found that Chyna’s counsel, Lynne Ciani, failed to offer any evidence during the trial that demonstrated Kim Kardashian was defamatory toward Chyna. However, the jury still had to decide on the other charges, which included claims for contract interference against Kim Kardashian, Kris Jenner, Khloé Kardashian, and Kylie Jenner, as well as defamation accusations against the latter three stars.

Following the revelation on Monday, the renowned family’s trial attorneys, Michael Rhodes and Michelle Doolin, issued a statement.

It read;

“On behalf of Kris, Kim, Khloe, and Kylie, I want to express our appreciation to the jury.

“We are also grateful for the steady hand of Judge Alarcon in making sure that this was a fair trial.  The jury sent a clear message to Ms. White and her lawyer — I hope they are listening.  Justice has prevailed.”

Chyna has a separate revenge-porn case against Rob that was set to start after the conclusion of this case. Chyna claims that Rob, in a “fit of rage,” distributed her private nude pictures to his Instagram account with more than 9 million followers. She alleges that the nude photos went viral and were seen by hundreds of million of people, causing her humiliation and emotional distress. Rob denies that he posted the images without Chyna’s consent and that the release of the images caused her any mental pain or emotional distress.