Blac Chyna’s Attorney Accused The Kardashians’ Lawyer Of A “Psychological Attack” On Chyna By Showing Her The Nude Photos That Rob Kardashian Leaked And Asked If She Can Redo Her Testimony
Chyna’s lawyer is insisting that she be allowed to redo her testimony, claiming that she was unable to answer cross-examination questions sufficiently after seeing the leaked nude photos caused her to break down in tears.
Blac Chyna’s attorney, Lynne Ciani, has requested that she be allowed to redo her testimony after an “unethical” cross-examination conducted by the Kardashians’ lawyer left her “visibly shaken.”
Chyna, who is currently facing off against the Kardashians in a strenuous legal battle, was reduced to tears on the witness stand after she was shown several nude photos of herself that were leaked online by her ex-fiancé Rob Kardashian.
For some context, Chyna and Rob’s tumultuous relationship came to an end in September 2016 after less than a year of dating. During this time, they not only got engaged, but also got pregnant with now-5-year-old daughter Dream — and documented everything on their exclusive E! reality show Rob & Chyna, a spinoff to Rob’s family’s hit series Keeping Up With the Kardashians.
Like their relationship, Rob and Chyna’s show was ultimately short-lived, as it was discontinued after just one season. Chyna accused the Kardashians of plotting to get the show canceled, and — in a 2017 court case that was brought back to trial last month — is suing Rob’s mom Kris Jenner, and sisters Kim Kardashian, Khloé Kardashian, and Kylie Jenner, for hundreds of millions of dollars in damages.
Meanwhile, Chyna filed a separate lawsuit against Rob and his family in October 2017. Not long after it was announced that the show had been axed, Rob leaked several explicit nude photos of Chyna on social media, including one of her exposed genital area.
In the suit, Chyna is accusing Rob of sharing her private nude photos to his millions of followers on Instagram and Twitter without her consent, which she said caused her to suffer mental pain and suffering, humiliation, and emotional distress. Rob was accused of violating California’s law on the nonconsensual sharing of sexual images and affronting women’s rights after posting the pictures, and faced a huge backlash online.
Chyna’s suit about the photos against Rob is reportedly set to start in May, after the current case against his mother and sisters comes to a close.
Appearing in the Los Angeles Superior Court last Thursday, which was the third day of proceedings in the present trial, Chyna took to the witness stand to give her testimony, though was caught off guard after being presented with a binder containing the leaked nude images of her.
The images were given by the Kardashians’ lawyer, Michael Rhodes, while he investigated the restraining order that Chyna had filed against Rob — which, the KarJenners claimed, was evidence that a second season of Rob & Chyna would have been impossible to make, and thus evidence that the case should be dismissed.
The explicit pictures weren’t shown to the jury or anyone else present, as was previously agreed by stipulation from both parties. But Chyna was still left “visibly shaken” after seeing the photos, according to eyewitnesses.
Entertainment Tonight reported that Chyna requested a break in proceedings and left the room to be consoled by a friend. “Once she left the courtroom, Chyna was seen crying and visibly shaken after seeing the photos of herself naked in the binder,” the eyewitness said. “She was being consoled by her male friend as she walked into a private room at the courthouse.”
Now, Chyna’s attorney Ciani has denounced the Kardashians’ lawyer, Michael Rhodes, for the move, which she reportedly called “a deliberate and unethical psychological attack.”
Ciani claimed Chyna was so distressed that when Rhodes later asked her about the monetary amount that she’s seeking in damages, she couldn't even name a solid figure.
Ciani also said that Chyna could only give vague answers to other questions during the cross-examination, adding that seeing the explicit images “derailed” her and left her so “upset.”
“There was a stipulation that the photos would not be included, which was violated intentionally,” Ciani told the judge, before requesting that she be allowed to redo her testimony as a result.
Asking the judge if Chyna’s previous testimony about the damages that she’s seeking could be scrapped entirely from the record, Ciani said: “I’m trying to suggest corrective action so we don’t have to have a mistrial.”
In response, Rhodes denied any wrongdoing. “The premise that I tricked [Chyna] into seeing those photographs is absurd,” he told the court.
Chyna first announced that she’d be refocusing her attention on the explosive trial in a statement shared on Twitter earlier this month.
“I plan to re-focus my attention on my trial against Kris Jenner and her daughters Kim, Khloe, and Kylie,” she wrote on April 2.
“When they got my #1 hit show killed back in January 2017, that not only hurt me financially and emotionally, that hurt my beautiful KIDS,” she wrote. As well as her and Rob’s daughter Dream, Chyna has a 9-year-old son, shared with her ex Tyga.
“I’m taking them to court to stand up for my legal rights and to be an example to my kids that ‘what’s right is right, what’s wrong is wrong.’ And what they did was so wrong,” she wrote, before accusing them of telling “lies” behind “closed doors.”
“I am so thankful that a jury will finally listen to what really happened behind closed doors — the lies that were told and the damage that was done,” she wrote.
