Kim Kardashian (L) has been awarded a massive six-figure sum in legal fees from Ivan Cantu (R).
Kim Kardashian Wins $167K in Legal Fees After Wrongful Identification Lawsuit
Kim Kardashian's latest legal win is raising eyebrows online. She demanded $186,000 in legal fees from the man whose defamation lawsuit against her was dismissed. According to court documents obtained by TMZ, Kardashian was awarded $167,000 of the $186,000 she sought from Ivan Cantu, the New York man who sued her after she posted a photo of him.
According to court documents revealed by TMZ, the fashion mogul was granted $167K from the $186K she demanded from Cantu.
It all started in January 2024, when the reality TV star wrongly identified a Texas prisoner who was awaiting execution. The man was executed on February 28, 2024, following his conviction for the double murder of his cousin and his cousin's fiancée in 2000.
At the time, Kardashian was studying law and regularly posted content to raise awareness as part of her criminal justice reform efforts. She had also expressed strong support for the treatment of prisoners in the U.S. justice system, particularly nonviolent offenders and those who may have been wrongly convicted.
How Did It All Begin?
On January 26, 2024, Kim posted a message regarding the convicted Ivan Cantu and mistakenly used a photo of a different New York man who shared the same name. Her lawyer called it a “simple error,” stating that she did it “to highlight [her] long-standing dedication to the issue of criminal justice reform", as per She Finds.
An X user's post of Kim where she misidentified the Ivan Cantu on death row in Texas.
Cantu filed a lawsuit after Kardashian shared his image, believing him to be the Texas death row prisoner she supported, but the court ruled in her favor. Cantu claimed that paying Kardashian would "financially devastate him," but she maintained that the lawsuit lacked merit and that he should cover the expenses.
In his complaint, the father of two said, "Kardashian published and disseminated false information about Cantu that was clearly untrue, erroneous, unfounded, shocking, scandalous, degrading, disgraceful, and/or shameful."
Ivan Cantu Sued Kim Kardashian For ‘Emotional Distress, Invasion of Privacy’
The New York man filed a lawsuit against Kardashian for libel, slander, emotional distress, invasion of privacy, portraying him in a false light, and negligence. He sought both compensatory and punitive damages.
But a federal judge dismissed the case, stating in last year's ruling that Cantu "failed to prove that he suffered any injury as a result of Kardashian's misappropriation of his likeness."
An X user reacts to Kim Kardashian getting called out for demanding legal fees from a man.
In an interview with the Daily Mail, Cantu's lawyer, Greg Sobo, described his client as a "highly private family man with two daughters." Taking aim at the Skims founder, Sobo said Kardashian knows the power of social media, which is often used to "bully" innocent people.
Reacting to the news, many users on social media slammed Kardashian and called her "greedy" for demanding money from the man. One user said, "Pay your own legal bill, Kim." Another wrote, "Kim needs to take responsibility for her mistake." A third user added, "This is actually very sad. He's going to be in financial ruin over her mistake."