The latest guest to join ‘The Jason Lee Show‘ is singer, actor, Reality TV star, and serial entrepreneur Ray J, who speaks with host Jason Lee about his divorce from Princess Love, his friendship with Donald Trump, his infamous Kim Kardashian tape, and viral exchange with Kanye West, his close friendship with Amber Rose, and plans of a Brandy and Monica tour, plus his new venture with Tronix Network and recent beef with its competitor Zeus Network.
Opening the interview, host Jason Lee and Ray J recall filming with each other on the set of VH1’s ‘Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood (LHHH).’ Reflecting on their time on the series, the two talk about the control had over them and the lack of money cast members received. Because of these things, Ray J admits this all led to him wanting to change the atmosphere of Reality TV. He says with his new network Tronix, he wants to pay Reality TV stars just as much as the NBA players, claiming they work just as hard. Ray J says he’s learned how to master Reality TV, content, and marketing. He says he loves to work and he knows how to market, specifically strategic marketing.
Ray has been producing shows since his 2009 dating show on VH1, ‘For the Love of Ray J,’ which ran for two seasons. In 2010, he began producing and starring in his and Brandy’s show ‘Brandy and Ray J: A Family Business.’ Ray says they were offered two more seasons, but Brandy wasn’t totally down with Reality TV, so they never re-upped. However, the network pivoted and came out with ‘T.I. & Tiny: The Family Hustle‘ in 2011. Ray says he’s not sure if VH1 was mad, but he took his talents to Oxygen for a spin-off of their ‘Bad Girls Club‘ franchise, called ‘Bad Girls All-Star Battle;’ this was all before heading back to VH1 for ‘Love & Hip Hop: Hollywood‘ in 2014.
After recalling their time together on ‘LHHH,’ Jason Lee also brings up the very first time he met Ray J, revealing it was at a County Fair in his hometown of Stockton, California. He says Brandy was performing and that Ray J and their parents, Willie Norwood Sr. and Sonja Norwood, were there as well. Lee recalls Ray J hopping on a bike and “going to hang out with The Bloods.” Ray remembers the moment and reveals he used to sneak out every day, all day, noting that he was always hanging out with the older kids.
Jason Lee recalls another time he saw Ray J (before ‘LHHH‘), recalling the time he produced a party for Kelly Price and invited late R&B legend Whitney Houston, who brought Ray J with her. Lee remembers Houston pulling him all through the party and sharing some of the last moments of her life together, as she would pass away the very next day. Lee continues to note that Ray J was one of the only few people to protect Houston.
RELATED: Princess Love Says She’s Focused On ‘The Things That Make Me Happy’ After Announcing Ray J Divorce
Speaking on his family, Ray J shares the differences between his parents, with his father being the reason he and Brandy pursued music, and their mother being the business-minded person in the family having managed over 35 H&R Block tax offices before her family jumped into the entertainment industry. When it comes to Brandy, Ray J says he loves being her little brother; and although they’re both great singers and actors, he says he never tried to be better than her because he couldn’t work that hard, going to rehearsals and keep up with school.
Despite trying to keep up a balancing act, Ray J says Brandy helped him gain a lot of opportunities in his career. Since then, he now wants to pay her back by planning a co-headlining tour for her and Monica. Ray says he’s one of Monica’s biggest fans and loves them both, so he’s trying his best to get this idea off the ground, noting it could mean a possible $10 million for each songstress. However, he admits that the tour might not even happen “because of the stupid sh*t I did.” Ray continues to give Brandy her flowers, noting that she’s done things in the industry that will never be redone and that she inspired Chris Brown.
Addressing his divorce from his wife Princess Love, Ray J reveals she is the only woman that he truly ever loved. He says he thought he loved the women in his prior relationships, but it was just young love. The two were together for almost 10 years, have filed for divorce four times, and have just realized that they are better off as friends and co-parents. Ray says Princess was his person in this lifetime, adding that even if they never reconcile again, he will never be able to marry again or love anyone but Princess. Ray J even admits to sleeping with about 84 people in his life, but every relationship other than his with Princess was “just pretend.”
RELATED: Ray J Says He And Princess Love Are ‘Good’ Despite Fourth Divorce Announcement
Despite the divorce, Ray J, 43, says he’s still looking out for Princess Love, 39, financially because she is the mother of his two children: Melody Love, 5, and Epik Ray, 4. Ray says he brings her in on every show he produces and every deal he closes so that she can take care of herself and their children. When it comes to moving on, Ray says he doesn’t have time to go dating, which is something he says he hasn’t done in over 20 years.
Speaking on his relationship with Princess Love, Ray J also talks about the issues it created for him and Floyd Mayweather Jr., as she was a girlfriend to him first. Ray reveals that Mayweather, who he’s been friends with for over 20 years, would show interest in the girls he brought around and vice versa. Ray says he didn’t mind his female friends dating Mayweather and encouraged both parties to explore and live an honest life. Although Ray J feels like Floyd Mayweather Jr. has likely gotten over it (due to how long it’s been since they began dating), he doesn’t feel like the same respect was given to him when he showed interest in Princess.
Addressing other women he’s been linked to, host Jason Lee brings up Wendy Williams, asking Ray J if they ever dated. He admits that the two did get close and it was different. But, he also reveals their friendship had a business side to it as well, adding that Williams wanted him to create a new narrative for daytime TV. He says they had an idea to bridge the gap between young people and the daytime TV audience. Before Williams’ daytime TV show ended, they were gearing up to try things out. Despite their plans getting sidelined, Ray says he still sees their vision coming to fruition somehow.
Ray J also talked about his friendship with Lil’ Kim, adding that he “loves her.” Also during the interview, Ray J talks about his close friendship with Amber Rose. He even admits that while they were both filming for BET’s ‘College Hill: Celebrity Edition,’ he would sleep in her bed every night. He claims Rose would see ghosts every night and asked him to sleep with her and hold her at night. Ray J also briefly talks about the viral fight on the show between Amber Rose and his sister-like friend Joseline Hernandez.
During his interview, Ray J spoke about his close friendship with former President Donald Trump and how he can “easily get him on the phone;” like when he jumped in and helped Kodak Black get a pardon from Trump before the end of his 2016 presidency. Ray says Trump is the greatest of all time and continues to speak on what he did for Black and others. While speaking on the 2024 Presidential election and getting the youth involved, Ray J hints at voting for Trump, adding that the country needs help.
Speaking on Diddy and his recent lawsuits, which were led by an initial complaint by ex-girlfriend Cassie, Ray J recalls his TMZ interview where he was asked why the mogul’s friends have remained silent amid his multiple lawsuits and federal raids. Especially JAY-Z and Nas, both of which who have known Diddy for decades and attend his parties all the time. Responding, Ray says a lot of people are hurt, adding that certain things are “unforgivable” and “unforgettable.”
He says it hurts him to see what is happening and that it’s not uncommon for CEOs to “take a lot of weird turns” to disrupt their wins and legacies. Ray J continues to reveal that he loves Cassie and respects her, noting that he’s seen her a few times and prays for her. Empathizing, Ray says he has a daughter, a sister, and a mom and is so sorry for what Cassie has gone through and is disappointed in what Diddy, who’s been a longtime friend and mentor, has done, further calling it “demonic.”
Bringing up Ray J’s infamous 2007 intimate tape with Kim Kardashian, host Jason Lee asks, “How did a voluntary sex tape get leaked?” The two discuss the fact that in recent years, Kardashian’s mom and manager Kris Jenner has denied rumors accusing her of orchestrating and/or releasing the tape, and even went on a late-night talk show to do a lie detector test to prove her innocence. However, Ray J and Jason Lee believe otherwise.
Lee says from the public’s perspective, we all saw a tape get “leaked” in February 2007, then we were told Ray J did it, but never said anything to clear his name or shift blame. However, in May 2022, Ray J finally broke his silence during a viral Instagram Live, where he alleged that Kim Kardashian and Kris Jenner orchestrated the sex tape leak via porn company Vivid Entertainment.
In addition to the tape that got leaked, it was revealed that there were two other tapes, which were on a laptop possessed by Ray J. Lee admits that he once received text messages from Jenner allegedly threatening him over the other tapes, which she allegedly believed he would leak. Lee claims Jenner told him she “owned” the property and would do anything to protect her family if he released the property “she owned.”
Lee continues to ask Ray if he ever got paid off because he got quiet after his viral IG Live. He was also asked if he’s still friends with Kris Jenner; he deflected and said he has moved on and is trying to do something positive for the world moving forward. During this segment, Ray J also talks about meeting up with Kanye West, Kardashian’s husband at the time. The two met at a private hanger to exchange the laptop containing the other tapes. Ray says that he loves Kanye and that they had a lot of time to talk about everything and understand it all. He further notes that the clip of Ye talking about him on ‘Drink Champs‘ was powerful and doesn’t get shared enough.
Speaking on his business ventures outside of the music industry, Ray J talks about all of his investments like his Scoot-E Bike business, which he says he spent all of his money on and had to build back up from. He says he invested $4 million in Raycon Global, which he exited in March 2024. In addition to owning a small crisis management firm (that has seen a lot of interesting cases), Ray J has most recently invested $3 million in Tronix — his new streaming network on which he promises to bring positive and thought-provoking content, which his competitors, like Zeus Network, lack.
Breaking down his upcoming work with Tronix Network, Ray J says he is looking to bridge the gap between scripted actors and Reality TV stars, who get more attention in the world of relevancy. He says there are actors who don’t have enough movies to compete with Reality TV stars, so he’s looking to bring the two worlds together. He also promotes all of his new series like ‘The Gworls Club,’ which is a show about transgender women that he admits has been attempted several times elsewhere, but never executed well.
Despite witnessing four fights in every episode, Ray says it’s an Emmy Award-winning show only available via Tronix. Along with ‘The Gworls Club,’ Ray, who once hosted a pride party in Atlanta, GA, says he has a company called ‘The Gaygency,’ and under it, he wants to sponsor Gay Pride and call it “Ray Pride.”
Ray J also has a show on Tronix Network starring transgender rapper and Instagram model Sidney Starr and her rumored boo, ‘Family Matters‘ star Darius McCrary. He says Starr was also going to get her own dating show with contestants, but things went horribly awry. He says during the audition, there was a shooting in the parking lot that nearly left 5 people killed. He says a transgender woman, who’s still on the loose, allegedly fired 17 shots after several transgenders got “jumped by the gays.”
Ray and rapper Sukihana are also working on a show called ‘Little Coochies of Las Vegas.’ Rapper and fellow ‘Love & Hip Hop‘ star Safaree also has a dating show coming to Tronix. Ray says Safaree’s show is called ‘Going On A Safaree‘ and it will be filmed in his home country of Jamaica. Ray also teases a project with Nicki Minaj‘s little sister. Ray J, who admits that he loves ratchet TV, reveals he’s been working on the story of Suge Knight, whose life rights he owns.
While speaking on his new business Tronix Network, Ray J also talks about the move from working with his new competitors, Zeus Network and its CEO Lemuel Plummer. Ray reveals how he began working with Zeus, claiming he helped revive the network when he and his ex Princess Love did their show ‘The Conversation.’ Ray also talks about other talent and viral shows over at the network like Natalie Nunn and ‘Baddies‘ and Joseline Hernandez and ‘Joseline’s Cabaret.’
Speaking on Natalie Nunn, Ray J lays it all on the table, all of their drama, secrets, and more! Ray even talks about putting Nunn on blast on social media. He shared videos of her disrespecting one another woman on ‘Baddies.’ He says he only reposted a video that was already out and just pointed out how she treated her cast. Ray says understands that these shows are ratchet and that he loves the ratchet world, but he also doesn’t produce his talent to “fight someone or get fired.” He continues to say that he thinks Nunn is a great person, she just got with the wrong team and caught up being taught a certain way.
He also says he helped convince Natalie Nunn to do the ‘Baddies‘ concept at Zeus, telling her it would be a great idea and would “absolutely” work and be profitable, even though he admits to host Jason Lee that Oxygen’s ‘Bad Girls Club‘ is way “better” than ‘Baddies,’ “hands down.” Ray J shares his issues with the Zeus Network and its CEO Lemuel Plummer, specifically claiming that he does not like how they do business.
Ray accuses the network of not being honest with its talent about how many subscribers the network has and how many trickle down to their shows. He also goes as far as to claim Lemuel Plummer is “a son” of his, or rather “grandson,” adding that without Ray J there is no Zeus Network. Ray also talks about initially brainstorming a show with celebrity moms, including Tia Kemp (Rick Ross‘ baby mama), Tokyo Toni (Blac Chyna‘s mom), and Karlissa Saffold Harvey (Blueface‘s mom). Recently, Plummer and the three women revealed that they are soon premiering a show called ‘The Aunt Tea Podcast.’
#Socialites, be sure to check out the full episode below, then leave us your thoughts in a comment after!