Kim Kardashian is facing a lawsuit after posting the wrong man’s photo on Instagram. A New York project manager named Ivan Cantu has sued her, claiming she mistakenly used his image in a 2024 social media post. The post was part of Kim’s campaign supporting a death row inmate—also named Ivan Cantu.
According to US Weekly, the New York-based Ivan Cantu says the error caused him emotional damage. He reportedly now suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and sleepless nights. His image appeared in an Instagram story that aimed to support the clemency of a Texas inmate convicted of murder in 2001.
Kim’s lawyers explained what happened. They said: “[Kim] played an important role in advocating for Mr. Cantu. Over the course of approximately ten days in February 2024, [Kim] and her team posted a series of ‘stories’ regarding Mr. Cantu — approximately 16 in all — on [Kim’s] Instagram account. Of these 16 stories, one story posted two days before Mr. Cantu’s execution mistakenly used an image of the plaintiff in this action, a New York-based project manager whose name is also Ivan Cantu. The mistake was discovered within hours of the posting, and the story was immediately deleted, with [Kim] swiftly issuing a public apology to [Ivan].”
Kim took full responsibility. She clarified that the mix-up was not intentional. In her statement, she said: “The use of Plaintiff’s image in the February 26 Story was a mistake and was not done intentionally. I would not have used the image appearing in the February 26 Story had I known that it was a picture of Plaintiff and not Mr. Cantu.”
Although Kim apologized, her legal team believes the lawsuit is unnecessary. They called the legal action a money-making attempt. They stated: “This lawsuit is an attempt to cash in on a mistake.”
The case is still ongoing. The court has yet to decide whether it will move forward. Meanwhile, the situation has raised concerns about verifying identities when posting advocacy content online.
