Days after the premiere of the first episode of “The Kardashians” on Hulu, rapper Blac Chyna’s case, which she filed five years ago against her ex-fiancé Rob Kardashian and his family, finally comes to court in Los Angeles today.
The former couple – who share a daughter, Dream – were once the subject of E! Reality series “Rob & Chyna”. When the show was in the middle of filming its second season, the couple split — and the show was put on indefinite hiatus. Months later, Chyna filed a massive lawsuit against the family, alleging that Rob physically abused her and that Kim, Khloé, Kris and Kylie Jenner conspired to get Rob & Chyna canceled.
As the trial begins and the famous family gets caught up in more drama, here’s everything you need to know.
A Brief History of Rob, Chyna and “Rob & Chyna”
Blac Chyna (real name: Angela Renée White) and Kris and Robert Kardashian’s youngest child went public with their relationship in January 2016. They announced their engagement three months later, followed by news of her pregnancy in May. In June, “Rob & Chyna” was greenlit for its first season on E!; The six-episode reality series began airing in the fall, and Chyna gave birth to their daughter in November.
There were rumors of a fight between the rapper-model and her fiancé’s family from the start, but they blew up to the public in December. She claimed her Instagram was hacked when a screenshot of a note saying she left Rob and took her baby without his knowledge was posted to her account.
A string of allegations followed, with Rob accusing Chyna of cheating and Chyna accusing Rob of refusing to seek help for his mental health issues.
In July 2017, their relationship hit rocky ground when Rob posted nude photos of Chyna to his social media, prompting her to seek a restraining order. (That incident will be tried separately in a trial scheduled to begin in May.) This month, E! confirmed that season 2 of Rob & Chyna had been out of production for “several months”. A rep told Variety that the show was canceled ahead of its revenge porn scandal and romantic aftermath.
The story goes on
Why is Blac Chyna suing the Kardashians?
In October 2017, Chyna filed a broad lawsuit naming Rob, Kim and Khloé Kardashian, and Kris and Kylie Jenner as defendants. The charges against Rob include assault, assault and molestation, while the rest of the family faces charges of defamation.
“Rob Kardashian is a perpetrator intent on destroying his baby’s mother, Angela White, who abandoned him in 2016,” the lawsuit reads. “In revenge, the Kardashian-Jenner family became media hijackers, shaming them on social media and killing their television show, which had already started filming for a second season.”
According to the lawsuit, E! planned to air a second season of “Rob & Chyna,” which will cover the couple’s journey as co-parents even after their split. Chyna claims they were already in production when the Kardashians stepped in to scrap the show. She alleges that the Kardashian-Jenners fabricated a story in which Chyna physically assaulted Rob and pressured network executives to stop production immediately. (Kardashian filed a separate personal injury lawsuit against Chyna, which he dropped in February 2022.)
The lawsuit also says Rob & Chyna interfered with another Keeping Up with the Kardashians spin-off, Life of Kylie, as a motive for the lawsuit. This E! The series premiered in the summer of 2017.
By allegedly duping Chyna, the family “flexed their muscles to destroy Ms. White’s career so that she could no longer compete against the Kardashian-Jenner women as an entrepreneur and social media influencer,” according to the the lawsuit.
The lawsuit continued, “By killing the second season of ‘Rob & Chyna,’ the defendants ensured that the E! Network had room in its schedule for Kylie Jenner to star on her own show, where she heavily promoted Kylie Cosmetics, which was once in direct competition with Blac Chyna’s LASHED.”
As a result, according to the lawsuit, Chyna was cheated out of millions she made from the show and other revenue streams.
What happened after Chyna filed the lawsuit?
In October 2020, a judge denied a motion filed by the Kardashians to dismiss Chyna’s lawsuit.
Chyna’s attorney, Lynn Ciani, told Us Weekly that “Blac Chyna will be seeking millions of dollars in compensatory and punitive damages from Kris [Jenner]Kim [Kardashian]khloe [Kardashian]and Kylie [Jenner] for defamation, willful breach of contract and willful influencing of a foreseeable economic advantage.”
A judge later ordered the production company behind “Rob & Chyna” to turn over unaired footage from the second season.
Who will testify at the trial?
Jury selection began Monday for the trial, which is expected to last 10 days. Kris Jenner, Kylie Jenner, Kim Kardashian and Khloé Kardashian will all testify live. Rob & Chyna producer Ryan Seacrest, who co-created and produced Keeping Up with the Kardashians and is executive producing on Hulu’s The Kardashians, is also expected to testify.
Chyna will be the first witness called to the stand and will be present throughout the trial, according to her attorney.