Blac Chyna and The Kardashians: Part 1 | 5

A listener note, this episode contains adult language.

Matt, what was your most memorable birthday party growing up? I think I grew up in the Spongebob era of child birthdays. Okay. Getting that Dairy Queen under the sea ice cream cake. I remember those. Graham cracker crumbs as sand? Beautiful. Well, this story has a lot of birthdays, but unfortunately, none of them involve Spongebob. Ugh. Tragic. Like all great stories, this one starts with a video posted in twenty fourteen. Oh no.

Like all great stories? Like all great stories, and I will stand by that statement. The footage is dark and grainy, but we can clearly see Kylie Jenner dancing on a table to 50 cents in the club. She's celebrating her 17th birthday. At the edge of the frame, inexplicably, there's a penis-shaped cake. No! Yep. For a 17-year-old's birthday party? Yeah. What else can you get a 17-year-old girl for her birthday?

And it turns out that this was allegedly custom ordered by the rapper Taiga. He's supposedly a family friend, but he's also seven years older. And not only that, But he's engaged to a friend of Kylie's sister, Kim. But You would not be able to guess that by watching this video. He starts to lead the crowd in a chant of, take a shot, take a shot. Kylie laughs and she grabs a bottle from him and then the video cuts out just before she takes a swig.

It's a stunning example of plausible deniability. Yeah. Thank God the if the video hadn't cut out, this would look horrible. Oh yeah, everyone would be in trouble if that video hadn't cut out. The video goes viral and everyone starts talking about it, but one person in particular is watching with a real pit in her stomach, and that's Taiga's fiance, Black China.

Because rumors are starting to spread like wildfire that something's going on between Taiga and Kylie. Understandable. China might have already sensed that something was going on, but now the rest of the world is getting that feeling too. He's embarrassing her out there. There. And everyone is waiting with bated breath to see what China's gonna do it. From Wondery. And I'm Matt Bell. I'm so excited to dive into this feud. I knew a little bit about it beforehand, but it turns out

Mad layers to this story. Alright, I'm ready. China befriending Kim Carl. In a courtroom Yeah, there's more than$100 million on the line. And not to mention, China's I'm ready.

Let's journey back to 2010 BK. And when I say BK, I mean before Kardashians. Sure. That's how the calendars work in that household. I know it. Well, we're on the set of Kanye West's monster music video, and there are some huge names involved in this. Kanye, obviously, but also Jay-Z, Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj, and then

There's this new girl on the block, Black China. Matt, what do you know about her? I'm embarrassed to say I don't really know that much about Black China. Like genuinely, she is kind of a mystery to me. I'm afraid to go on the record by saying like I know part of her thing is that she kind of looks like Nicki Minaj. The reason she was actually there was because she was Nicki Minaj's

body double, but we'll get into that. So it's not just me being like th these two women of color look very similar. We are still going to cancel you. Thank you. We are going to come for you with pitchforks. I deserve it. But That's why you're here to learn a little more about Black China, or as she is also known, Angela White.

She was raised by a single mom in Washington DC, and she's worked all her life to support herself and her mother. In high school, she did that by working in fast food restaurants. And then when she went to college in Miami, she started stripping to pay her tuition. And as a side note, she was studying fashion merchandising and business management, which I feel helped her a lot down the line. Yeah, an entrepreneur. Yes, in the making.

But while dancing, she crosses paths with Drake. Yes, champagne poppy himself. I know that's never a good sign. Okay, I was about to make a joke about that, but in this specific instance it does end up helping her because she's dancing at the club and he's apparently so taken with her that he gives her a shout out in his song Miss Me.

Because everything I know about Drake, I'm like, I feel like getting mentioned in a Drake song is some type of omen. Usually you have to be like under 21 for that to happen. But all right. So she's like climbing up the social ranks, I guess. It's so funny, I've heard that song so many times, and it wasn't until I started looking into Black China that I even realized that was about her. But

That shout out from Drake is what helped her get onto Kanye's set. I know he goes by Ye now, but I am not going to do that for him. So we will be calling him Kanye. Anyways, Black China's got plenty of street cred, but she hasn't fully broken through in terms of like real celebrity. As I said, she's there to be Nicki Minaj's body double. She's not even a featured performer. And this is the biggest set that she has ever been on. Wait, she's on set as

Just as Nicki Minaj's body double. Mm-hmm. So it's it's she's not there like performing in the video as Black China. No. But that doesn't matter because this is like a huge turning point for China. She always had big goals, but this is a chance to really make a name for herself. And you know, like break into a new echelon of fame, get into her video vixen bag. Right. Is that a the name of a black china song? No, that's like a term for the hot girls and videos. Wow. I Video vixens. Right.

So they're filming, doing their thing, and China's getting noticed. She's good at what she does and she knows how to work her angles. So much so that she ends up getting cast in another music video, this time for the rapper Taiga. And the song is Rack City. Here, let me just play you a little bit. Rag, rag, rag, city bitch, city. Rag, rag, rag, city, bitch, Mustard on that beat. I love when mustard is on that beat. I love mustard on a beat.

I do remember this song very well. This was like in my college days, I feel like. Mm-hmm. And this time, China is not a body double. She plays Taiga's girlfriend in the music video.

We don't know a whole lot about how filming goes, but apparently Taiga and China really hit it off because pretty soon life is imitating art and by December 2011, she and Tyga are dating in real life. Wow. Yes. Music video to dating in record time. The perfect pipeline. And then three really big things happen in quick succession. One, China gets pregnant.

Like right away. Two, nine months later she gives birth to their son and they name him King Cairo. And then three, at some point, China and Taiga get engaged. Wow. Okay. So we're moving very quickly. They're one big happy family. Everything is perfect, right? Mm-hmm. Everything's coming up black China, you know? She's got her man, a beautiful baby boy, and he is truly beautiful. And my family is notoriously judgmental of babies.

Some babies aren't. We don't have the time to get into it, but she's only just dipped her toe into Hollywood, and once she fully dives in, she's going to get swept up in the tidal wave that is America's most famous family. The Kardashians. Oh no. It's like that gif. It's like you're in danger, girl. Odame Brown, come save us.

Okay, Matt, so one day, seemingly out of nowhere, China's phone starts blowing up. Mm-hmm. All of her friends are hitting her line to be like Kim Kardashian just reposted a photo of yours. Big deal. Big deal. Because apparently years before this China took a picture at a mall with a cardboard cutout of Kim and like posted it on her socials. Why? Why were there cardboard cutouts of Kim Kardashian? I don't know. But

China's a smart woman. She must have seen the opportunity that presented itself here. Ciao! I'm guessing that she probably slid into Kim's DMs or something. Because next thing we know, the two are seen all over town together. They take selfies, they attend a Barry's workout class, which of course ends up on an episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians. Of course. Kim goes to King Cairo's first birthday, and then Black China goes to Kim's birthday in Vegas. Wow, they're basically besties.

Instagram best friends, it's a symbiotic relationship because by hanging out with Kim, China's name starts getting thrown around a lot more. Of course. And on the flip side, Kim gets street cred for having China as a bestie. It's just like at this beautiful Hollywood Circle of life kind of thing. Mm-hmm. Yeah. But even if China realizes that Kim might be using her, it's hard to imagine that she really cares.

Because as we said, she's kind of doing the same thing. It's symbiotic. And she's now in Kim's inner circle. And that's a pretty great next step for expanding her own personal brand. I mean she's moving up in the world. There's there's only good things are happening right now. Right now. China keeps close to kin.

And she's getting closer with the rest of the family too. So it makes sense that when Kendall Jenner's eighteenth birthday rolls around, China gets an invite. Makes sense? Why wouldn't she? Yeah, your friend's little sister's eighteenth birthday party is sure. So naturally the Kardashians rent out all of Six Flags all to themselves. Not the whole park. Yes, the whole park mat. The whole Kardashian Jenner clan is there. This includes Rob Kardashian, who Black China meets for the first time.

We'll get back to Rob, but just know that he usually sticks to the sidelines. He's got anxiety, depression, and body image issues, and he doesn't really like the limelight that the rest of his family seems to thrive in. But you know who he does like? China. Oh, uh romance. But unfortunately for Rob, she's engaged to Tyga. So Rob doesn't pursue and I don't think China gives him a second thought. Which brings us back to Kendall's party.

China and Kim are chummin' it up. They play arcade games and they go on roller coasters together. And after this party, China and Kim get even tighter. China manages to snag the invite of the decade. She and Taiga go all the way to Italy for Kim and Kanye's wedding. Wow. Six flags is one thing, but the wedding, that was a big deal. Black China is no longer the girl from DC that no one knows. She's now operating in the highest circles of Hollywood. And I imagine she's starting to dream big.

Really big.

Maybe she can launch her own brand, star in her own TV show. The opportunities are limitless. But then, things take a turn when Kim's 17-year-old sister, Kylie, steps onto the scene. What is the 17-year-old gonna do? Nothing that I'd encourage. Okay, Matt, it's time for yet another Jenner birthday. It's been about four months since Kim and Kanye's wedding, and now Kylie's turning seventeen, and China's fiance, Taiga,

tells China that he's actually the one who's gonna throw Kylie's birthday party. Why? At the house that they live in together. Why? With their son. I'm so k Why is this man just throwing a 17 year old's birthday party? Well apparently, Matt, the two have been friends for a couple years. Sure. Does that make you feel any better that they were friends when she was fifteen? Absolutely not.

They seemingly met for the first time three years earlier at Kendall's sixteenth birthday party, which is also in an episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians. Uhhuh. There's just so many birthdays, so many names with K. I feel like I need a chart with like red yarn connecting it. You're like Charlie Day with the yarn charts at Bay Sylvia. Yeah. China doesn't think anything untoward is going on between them. But let's be clear: Taiga's 24, Kylie's 17.

It's weird at best. It's definitely weird. I mean, I get that rich people are like just kind of doing crazy stuff in general, but like texting Millie Bobby Brown Drake. Ha ha. Okay, I don't know if this is quite texting Millie Bobby Brown levels, but it's still weird. Okay, well, that's not gonna stop Tyga from throwing this party mat. He invites a handful of celebrities and it makes quite the list. I'll just name some of them now. Chris Brown.

The game, Justin Biebert. Once again, I'm just like, right, this is a 17-year-old's birthday party. The one person who doesn't seem to be in attendance? Black China. At her own house. Yeah. Wow. And then only days later, Taiga comes to China and tells her their engagement is off and she has to get out of their house. I hate that. Wait, I s he allegedly has China packing bags and throwing them in the back of his truck.

And sure enough, rumors start circulating about Kylie and Taiga dating, and this keeps up for months until finally. Taiga goes on the radio and denies everything. I want to be clear to everybody that I didn't leave my family. Um, to be with Kylie. You know what I mean? And um that's ridiculous. It is so hard for me to stop myself from yelling boo into the microphone.

He can deny it all he wants, but China knows something's going on. You don't just end a three-year engagement for no reason. And she's upset. Understandably. Yeah, I would be pissed off too. And at the end of the day, China has no concrete proof. Tyga and Kylie are swearing up and down that they're not dating. She's underage. They'd never do that. They're just friends. We have two eyes. We know what's going on here. Come on.

And China must feel like she's being horribly gas-lit, because she is, but China's not one to take things lying down, and she's not about to start now. Hello, I'm Matt Ford. And I'm Alice Levine. And we're the hosts of British Scandal. Now, Britain loves a royal scandal. Abdications, affairs, Dodgy uncles. We've had the lot. But this series is about two brothers. Raised in palaces bound by tragedy, supposed to be in set.

So how did they end up barely speaking? Was it jealousy, the press, the firm? always inevitable. This is the story of Harrion Wills and the scandal that split the house of Follow British Scamble wherever you get your pocket. Early and ad-free on Audible.

So ever since Taiga's radio spot, China's been pretty quiet. Friends of hers, including Kanye's ex, Amber Rose, come to her defense and they slam the alleged relationship to the media. But China decides to take a slightly more subtle, but still very petty, approach. Relatable. That's what I would do. Would you do this? About a month later, she goes on Instagram and she posts a simple photo.

She's showing off a gold diamond encrusted watch that Tyga gave her a few years earlier. But then, four hours later, Kylie, who supposedly isn't dating taiga, Post a photo as well, and she's wearing a very similar watch. She captions it currently. No. There's no other way to read that. No, and I even have the photos here. Matt, can you describe China's watch versus Kylie's and just the pictures in general?

Well yeah, first of all, Black China's post is like she has her hand on a what looks like a steering wheel, like shining in the sun. It looks very like She has a hand tattoo. It's a good picture. It's very well lit. Kylie, in contrast, is standing in what appears to be, I don't know, like a club. Yeah, club lighting. Yeah, she has that kind of purple lighting that you only see if you're on like a dance.

Mm-hmm. Well, six or seven days later, China's driving around LA in her hot pink Mercedes G-Wagon, and at one point she makes a stop and the paparazzi catch her with the window down. So obviously they ask her about the watch post and she doesn't say anything. Instead, she just dangles her arm out the window and what do you know, she's wearing the watch.

The paparazzi all-snap photos and the story runs in all the tabloids the next day. She's really sticking with that watch as symbol of you know what you did, that kind of thing. But she doesn't stop there. Three weeks after that, China posts screenshots of texts that are allegedly from Taiga. In them, he's supposedly claiming he wants to ditch Kylie and get back with China.

Now, we're not entirely sure if these texts are real or fake, but this is what they say. She said, King will be with you on Thursday morning. He writes, Can I just come for a little? Just us three. Do something or spend a little time. Just want to talk real with you for a minute. In another screenshot he says Call me when you can. I want to be with you. I want to be positive. I want to be a family again. Wanna start this friendship relationship.

Tyga and Kylie say they're fake. They tell China to give it up and leave them alone. I don't know if they're really fake, but I do know that there are like many sites on the internet where you can make fake screenshots of tech. Yeah, I can imagine this would not be very difficult to recreate. Yeah, we'll never know.

But clearly there's animosity from everyone involved in this situation. Black China, Kylie, Taiga, the whole lot of them. And everyone watching the drama at home wants to know who's gonna come out on top. Right now, it kinda seems like China's winning. She's the one who was wronged. She has the moral high ground. But China's gonna take a major hit when the Kardashians start to publicly back Kylie and Taiga. Ugh.

I know. Despicable. It would have been better if they disowned Kylie and took Black China's side, but I get it. China may have won the watch for the

Battle, but Kylie is set on winning the war. Four months later, we have yet another birthday. It's August 2015 and And Kylie is finally turning 18. Whenever we're celebrating someone turning 18, something has gone wrong. Yep. Yep. She celebrates at the LA nightclub Bootsy Bellows. Matt, have you ever been there? Do I look like I've ever been to Bootsy? I don't live in LA. I'm assuming a lot of listeners don't either. And Every name that I hear of an LA nightclub, I'm like that's

Fake. The people of LA are pulling a prank on the rest of us. Kylie's there partying. And of course, so is Taiga. He showers her with gifts Including a$320,000 Ferrari. Wow. When Kylie sees it outside the club, she freaks out and the paparazzi shout at the two of them to kiss. Tiger, just kiss it, man. It's legal now. Ew. I'm so repulsed. Also, it's legal now is something that should only be yelled in a celebratory tone when it's like weed. You know?

Just gross. Exactly. Yeah. Paparazzi are disgusting, first of all. Second of all This is the gift that you give to someone that you've been dating. Yeah. Also, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that Taiga gets a tattoo in Kylie's honor. Oh my god. The level of horrible choices that everybody involved here is consistently making. One right after the other. Yeah. It's not even a well done tattoo. Can we talk about that?

I do love how the only letters that look like they belong together are L-I-E or LI. Lie. The K and the Y are just kind of floating out there. I think the tattoo artist Was Team China? It's just a very strange design altogether, but even setting that aside, it's like They're not beating the rumors. No, but at this point they are not trying to beat any rumors because it is now official that Kylie and Taiga are an item. Well yeah, it's legal now.

China's old friend Kim Kardashian contacts her and is like, Sorry, I can't really be friends with you anymore, you know,'cause of Kylie and Taiga. I would have assumed this friendship had ended a lot earlier, but Right. I guess it's fine. I mean, they'll always have six flags. After Kim reaches out, China obviously feels abandoned. She not only lost her fiance, but now a really good friend too. That good, good Kardashian connection is

Dried up. Oh, not yet. There's one member of the Kardashian Jenner clan who's not ready to write off China completely, and that's Rob Kardashian.

Remember how we met Chyna back at Kendall's Six Flag birthday party? Yes. Well back then she was still with Taiga. But now she's single and apparently Rob's been pursuing her for a while. But China's suspicious of his motives. The rest of the Kardashians have turned their backs on her. Why would he go against the grain? So China is like maybe he is a dark

like s sleeper agent who's sent by the family to like infiltrate. I cannot think of anyone worse in that family to be a spy than Rob. I feel like he's the one with the least amount of like finesse. Yeah, I don't know much about Rob Kardashian, but it does seem like he's always kind of there lurking in the background. I don't know. I don't know if he can be trusted. I think it's a fair suspicion, yes, but Something changes China's mind. Who knows what it is?

Maybe he's smoother than we give him credit for. Or he's got some game along with like the lurking nature. Or maybe China saw an opportunity to get back at the Kardashians and snatched it. Whatever it was, One way or another, about five months after Taiga and Kylie make it official, China decides to reach out to Rob. I do love the implication that she's trying to like get back in with the family. Like

As if that's not going to make Thanksgiving dinner the absolute worst. Yeah, I'm not sure there was like a long game plan in place. No, it it just kind of seems like retaliation. Yeah. But I love retaliation. And what do you know, Matt, right after China reaches out, she and Rob start dating. It's now January 2016 and China goes on Instagram to drop a cryptic hint about it. Matt, can you describe the photo she posted?

Well, it is an extremely cryptic photo in that I don't entirely know what's going on, but it's kind of a close-up of Black China's face with her chin resting on A man's arm with a bunch of tattoos. Yes. I would suppose that people who are know what other people's tattoos look like could identify this person. Mm-hmm. All she captions it with is the beginning, along with the Shamrock emoji. But as you said, rabid fans, along with a little help from TMZ, quickly deduce that the tattoos are raw.

Mm-hmm. And the Shamrock is a little call out to him since he was born on St. Patrick's Day. Ew. I don't know if that's cute. I'm not gonna say it's cute. It's fine, but Rob's family is not really on board with this. Chloe posts a literal godfather quote on Twitter saying, You can do anything, but never go against the family. The fans do assume that Chloe is talking about Rob with this quote, but of course

She denies this and she says that she was referring to another family member who backed out of doing her talk show, which if we can pause, talk show. She had a talk show? I guess so. But then Chloe backtracks and she's like, but hey, maybe my quote can go towards a few people today. It does seem like if the shoe fits.

The Kardashians aren't the only ones that are skeptical about this new relationship. Plenty of people online speculate that China is only dating Rob to get back at the Kardashian Jenner clan. And I think Time magazine put it best when they said that the couple getting together is either the most epic troll of all time or true love. If I'm being honest, maybe it's both. Yeah, why can't it be both? No, why not? Our world contains multitudes.

Every rom com that I've ever read or seen, this is a classic story, you know? What starts as something else develops into true love. Yes.

So China pays those people no mind. She's happy with her new boyfriend, and after the hard launch of their relationship, things take off. Quickly. First, Rob moves in with China. Then, two weeks later on Valentine's Day, he gets her a huge bouquet of roses, and I guess more importantly, a$325,000 rose. Diamond encrusted piece of art. It actually has the lyrics to John Legend's The Beginning written all over it. Oh, yeah. I'm sorry. I think it's like a cute little reference to

China's first Instagram post about them. I do think it would have been funny if he got her a watch. It's a real missed opportunity. We need some comedians involved in that relationship. Either way, it's truly just the beginning for the two of them because not even two months later, China and Rob have even bigger news.

They're getting married. Congratulations. They show off China's three hundred twenty five thousand dollars engagement ring on Instagram and then celebrate at the strip club with China's mom. As one does. I can't knock that. No, she's going back to her roots. Jesus. Th that wasn't meant as a slight. I know, I know, but clearly it's something they enjoy doing together. Like they have fun there. Good for them. But there's noticeable silence from Rob's family regarding the engagement.

Tabloids report that Rob actually blindsided them with this information, and they say he let them find out on social media just like everyone else. Kim, Chloe, Kylie, and Courtney all react to these reports of the engagement on an episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians. They're on a ski trip in Vail and Kim pulls up an article about how none of them have reached out to congratulate Rob and Chloe immediately jumps on the offensive. No one should congratulate them. That's so desperate and

Whoever shows kindness first, it means that you're desperate and fake. Wow, yeah. It's truly as if they've like called a strike against And they're like, we need to hold the line. No one break. And it looks like, whether they like it or not, Black China is about to become a Kardashian. Yes.

So you might have guessed this, but the Kardashians aren't exactly thrilled about the idea of Black China joining the family. I mean, Not too much earlier, Kim was telling China they couldn't be friends because of Kylie and Taiga, and now they're supposed to be sisters-in-law. Doesn't bode well. It's gonna require a pretty hard pivot. Yeah. Then to make things even messier, Rob makes an Instagram announcement. It's May 2016 and he posts a custom emoji of China with a press.

That's right. Black China is pregnant. Oh my god. With an official Kardashian baby. Mm-hmm. And at this point, the Kardashians have gotta be like. Okay, this isn't a fling. She's not going away. Maybe we need to take a different approach. Or at least that's how some of them react. In one episode of Keeping Up with the Kardashians, Chris Jenner says that she had Robin China over to hear them out and that Kylie was also there.

And Chris says that the conversation went great. She realized how in love her son is, and she just wants him to be happy. Other sources say that Kim's the one who actually orchestrates the sit-down, and honestly, I'd believe that. Kim is a Libra, and I feel like Libra's love order. I'll take your word for it. But either way, after this meeting, Black China and Kylie post an iconic selfie on Snapchat. They claim that they've always been friends.

Matt, what do you think of this picture, if you could describe it for us? Okay, so it's Kylie and Black China standing together taking a mirror selfie, and they're very close. And the caption says When we've been best friends the whole time. Okay. I'm not not gonna believe that. But hey, it looks like the feud could be over. Right. Even if we're not believing that they were actually friends the whole time?

This is a good effort at putting it past them. A good step. Except not all of the Kardashians are of the forgive and forget mindset. Chloe feels disconnected from her brother and she hates it and she pretty much blames China for all of that. This is a clip of her talking about her feelings.

regarding China and Rob. Am I disappointed that Rob isn't talking to me after he got out of my house? Yeah. Because I've been the only one that stood by him and defended him and wanted the best for him. So that's just where it gets frustrating. I've always stood by him. I've always wanted the best for him. And that's exactly why I haven't been speaking to him.

I just can't get past like Black China was the one wronged here from the beginning. Like, why are the Kardashians so salty? It's like she's the one who's like Forgiving you by becoming a part of your family. Mm-hmm. And it's clear that this new relationship is causing serious tension between the family members. But at the same time, the Kardashians are nothing if not savvy business women. And if China's not going away, then they might as well bring her and Rob into the family business.

And it just so happens, China and Rob think it'd be a great idea to get a TV show of their own. Why not? Throw them in the mix. The devil works fast, but Matt, the Kardashians always work faster. They certainly do. Just two months later, season one of Rob and China airs. Two months later. Two months. Can you believe that? Yeah, they they really just have to snap their fingers and E will be like, put it on the air. Chris, Pim, Courtney and Chloe are all executive producers.

Here, let's take a look at the trailer for the show. Meet the future Mr. and Mrs. Kardashian. I fell in love with you because I know how good you are and how loyal you are to- Are you still Jackson bitches? Yes or no? They're good. Complicated. And they're about to become family. Are you still texting bitches, yes or no? Shouting that. Iconic. Yeah, like on any reality show, there are just like a ton of juicy moments in that trailer. They're alluding to cheating scandals and paternity tests.

And of course, there is also a constant self-doubt and paranoia between the couple.

No doubt exacerbated by producers. They gotta turn up the drama. Throughout filming, Rob and China are super up and down. Case in point, in September 2016, it's time to throw a baby shower for China. But she and Rob are fighting, so Rob's sisters decide to throw a baby shower just for him. Everyone is so petty. Apparently they do tell Chyna and she's like, Yeah, that's cool. How are you gonna throw a baby shower for the man? I don't know. What does that even entail?

But then get this. Rob freaks out on the day of the shower and he refuses to show up and he doesn't stop there. He retaliates even further and a few days later he tweets out Kylie's cell phone number. to his six point six five million followers. Ha ha ha. Because of the shower? We don't know. That's what it Seems like That is a pretty aggressive overreaction. Yeah. But the damage is already done. Rob does publicly apologize a few days later. He admits

I probably shouldn't have gone on Twitter, but I did. I kind of just took all my anger out on Kylie and my family. It sounds like Black China's plan of infiltrating the Kardashian clan and breaking them apart is working. Alleged plan. Why is everybody on someone's shitlist? Can anybody get along? No. Okay. Brace yourself because now this multi-layered feud is about to take a really odd turn. More odd than everything I've heard so far? If you can believe it.

It's been two days since Rob tweeted Kylie's number, and now it's China's turn to tweet out a phone number to her followers. She only has six hundred seventy four thousand, by the way, but still a huge audience. Yeah. And who is the victim? None other than Rob. Why? Why would she do that? A lot of people are asking that, so she hops on Snapchat to explain. Explain herself, and she says to the camera to ensure your man is not texting no bitches, just tweet his number out.

How's that feel, Rob? Then she turns the camera to Rob and he's just awkwardly sitting there. His phone is ringing off the hook. And China's just like get your number changed. Thank you. Okay, I take back everything. I live for that tactic. I I'm obsessed with that. Mm-hmm.

China and Rob are really hot and cold. There are rumors that they're breaking up, then they're back together, then living separately but working through their issues. With this much trouble, you'd think that China would just walk away. But here's the thing. She knows that she needs Rob. Without him, she doesn't have a TV show.

And she doesn't have any access to the Kardashian Empire. Remember, she's pregnant. She wants the best possible life for her child. And in terms of financial stability, it doesn't really get much better than being a Kardashian.

Two months later, on november tenth, twenty sixteen, Dream Renee Kardashian is born. And things once again seem to be well in China and Rob's world. They supposedly landed on the name Dream because and I quote, it was always Rob's dream to have a baby. But I also remember some theories going around black Twitter, and the one that really caught steam was that China named her daughter Dream because she's the first black Kardashian, i.e., the Dream Kardashian. Right.

All the other women in the family appropriate black culture and most of them have mixed race children, but none of their kids actually have the last name Kardashian. That's right. This is the first like Kardashian from a male Kardashian. And he's the only one. So like Right. Yeah, dream is the dream. But unfortunately the peace and happiness won't last long.

This weird, messy, interfamily drama that's been playing out on social media and reality TV is about to go to a whole new level. One that involves chairs thrown at Bentleys. Revenge porn accusations, and multiple lawsuits that will eventually land Black China in court biting for the

So Matt, what do you think? What's your take on this? Yeah, I mean it does kind of seem like this story, it's like David and Goliath. But in this case, like David is A self-made woman who uh found herself going up against this like family conglomerate.

And also David married Goliath. Yeah. At the end of the day, it is like an underdog story. We want to root for the underdog, but as we'll find out going forward, the underdog uses some tactics that I don't think I myself would employ in trying to bring down Goliath. Look, it's like here's this family that is So powerful in media and entertainment and to think of of someone who was virtually a a no-name to be able to come in and like disrupt.

Truly infiltrate this family. She's so powerful. Like, I know that she's up against it and She's gonna get into some trouble later on, but she's really powerful and I could not do what she did. You can be a David, but if you live long enough, you become Goliath. Wow. This is a warning tale. This is episode one of two on Black China and the Kardashian. The show is hosted by me, Sidney Batter.

and me, Matt Belisai. We use many sources in our research. A few that were particularly helpful were the LA Times's She Said They Said What Black China and the Kardashians have testified at their trial by Nardine Saad, And BuzzFeed News's Defamation Trial Begins for Black China lawsuit against the Kardashians by Stephanie K. Baer. Alex Burns wrote this episode. Our lead producer is Kate Downey. Jasmine Ward is our producer and Jake Dvorsky is our associate producer.

Our story editors are Alex Burns and Greg Castro. Our senior producer is Peter Johansson. Sound design by Jamie Cooper. Additional audio support by Adrian Tapia. Audio editing by Steve Maser. Back checking by Gabrielle Drulet. Our music supervisor is Scott Velasquez for Freeze on Sync. Our senior managing producer is Ryan Lohr. Our coordinating producers are Chinwei Obodo and Sophia Martens. Our executive producers are Janine Cornelo, Stephanie Jens, and Marshall Lewy for Wondery.