A resident of New York has launched a slander lawsuit against Kim Kardashian, a high-profile figure and aspiring 44-year-old lawyer, after she inadvertently utilized his photograph in an Instagram post concerning a Texas death row inmate who bore the same name, as revealed in court documents. In her post advocating for criminal justice reform, Kardashian detailed the death penalty faced by convicted murderer Ivan Cantu.
However, instead of attaching a picture of the inmate from the Lone Star State, she mistakenly shared an image of a different Ivan Cantu—a project manager hailing from Westchester—with her vast Instagram audience of over 350 million followers. According to an NBC News report, this mix-up has led the Westchester Ivan Cantu to file a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court against the founder of Skims, asserting that he has been subjected to "hatred, contempt, and/or ridicule" since the error, causing him significant emotional distress and anxiety.
Cantu is seeking unspecified damages, contending that his reputation has suffered irreparable harm. Kardashian's lawyer, Michael Rhodes, defended his client by stating that the social media influencer had made a "simple mistake" in her February 28, 2024 post, which was intended to promote her "longstanding commitment to the cause of criminal justice reform."
Kardashian had penned, "The State will execute Ivan Cantu in 2 days. Please sign the petition to demand that Colin County DA Greg Willis request to withdraw the execution date," accompanied by a black-and-white photograph of Cantu and a link to a moveon.org petition. Rhodes emphasized that once Kardashian realized her error, the photo was "taken down almost immediately." While she would have preferred to resolve the issue amicably out of court, her attorney noted that she stands ready to defend herself if necessary.
Greg Sobo, Cantu's lawyer, emphasized that Kardashian, of all people, should be acutely aware of the "power of social media." He remarked in a statement, "For too long, we have seen social media cause devastating injuries to innocent victims. Social media is too often abused to bully the innocent, incite harm, and injure our communities. Just like those who cause physical harm should be held accountable, those who cause injuries to innocent victims through social media must also be held responsible."
Sobo portrayed his client as a father of two and a "very private family man," who was mourning at the time of the botched post. "Mr. Cantu's privacy was destroyed at a most critical and sensitive time, and he has suffered a very real trauma that will last a lifetime," Sobo lamented. He also claimed to have made several unsuccessful attempts to reach Kardashian's team before ultimately filing the lawsuit.
Meanwhile, the Texas Ivan Cantu was executed on February 28, 2024, for a 2001 conviction related to the murders of his cousin James Mosqueda and Mosqueda's girlfriend, Amy Kitchen, who were shot inside their home the previous year.
