Blac Chyna Hits Setback With Testimony in Kardashians Trial
Blac Chyna's $100 million lawsuit against the Kardashian-Jenner family is going to the jury soon after the judge denied the former reality TV star's request to re-do her testimony. Chyna, who was once engaged to Kim Kardashian's brother Rob Kardashian and is the mother of his daughter Dream, accused the Kardashians and Jenners of influencing E! Network's decision to cancel Rob & Chyna after only seven episodes. During his own testimony Wednesday, Rob claimed his relationship with Chyna "wasn't real love."
Chyna took the stand on April 21. She asked Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Gregory Alarcon to allow her to testify again before lawyers gave their closing arguments, reports Insider. Chyna, whose real name is Angela White, said she was too upset to testify clearly because the Kardashians' lawyer, Michael G. Rhodes, handed her a binder with her own nude photo. It was the same graphic photo Rob published on his social media pages in 2017 after they split and Rob & Chyna ended. On Thursday, the judge denied the request.
After Chyna was shown the photo, she asked the judge for a break, sources told Entertainment Tonight. "Once she left the courtroom, Chyna was seen crying and visibly shaken after seeing the photos of herself naked in the binder," an eyewitness told the outlet. "She was being consoled by her male friend as she walked into a private room at the courthouse."
Rhodes also asked Chyna about the restraining order she filed against Rob, the press conference where her attorney announced it, and her appearance on Good Morning America. He asked if it was all a publicity stunt, an allegation she denied. "You think I'm supposed to not let anything happen? Rob posted nudes of me on the internet. Do you want me to not do anything? Am I to not do anything and just take it, right?" she asked Rhodes. She told the court she was upset after seeing the binder.
"I see your decision on this motion," Chyna's lawyer, Lynne Ciani, told Alarcon after he ruled against allowing Chyna to testify again. But, "I emphatically insisted that the naked photo not be presented to the plaintiff," Ciani said. Alarcon reminded Ciani that lawyers for both sides agreed it could be used as an exhibit as long as it was not shown to the jurors. Ciani said she never agreed to "emotionally triggering" photos shown to her client.
Rob took the stand on Wednesday. He claimed he was at the "lowest point" in his life when asked why he stayed with Chyna for so long, even after she disrespected the Kardashian-Jenner family, reports PEOPLE. "I was very vulnerable. I wasn't thinking about that stuff. My mind was just in a completely different place," he said, adding that their relationship "wasn't real love." He said he only cared for Chyna because she was the mother of his daughter. He said they had a "toxic relationship" and claimed Chyna allegedly pointed an unloaded gun at him during an argument in 2016. During her testimony, Chyna said the gun threat was made in jest, reports Entertainment Tonight.
Chyna's legal battle with the Kardashian-Jenner family started in 2017 after Rob & Chyna was canceled, and Rob published nude photos of Chyna on Instagram. Chyna accused the Kardashians and Jenners of damaging her brand and verbally and physically abusing her. She claims they used their power to get E! to cancel Rob & Chyna.