Kim Kardashian has been sued for libel and slander after she mistakenly shared a photograph of a New York man on social media, incorrectly identifying him as a death row inmate found guilty of a double murder in Texas.
Kim meant to post an image of Ivan Cantu, who was sentenced to death for the fatal shootings of his cousin and his cousin’s fiancé in Dallas. Cantu was scheduled to die by lethal injection two days later.
“The state will execute Ivan Cantu in 2 days,” Kim’s post read. “Please sign the petition to demand that Collin County DA Greg Willis request to withdraw the execution date.”
Instead, Kim posted the wrong Ivan Cantu.
“Kardashian’s statement was false because Cantu was residing in the state of New York and was not in the state of Texas, had not committed a crime and was not about to be executed,” the lawsuit reads. “Kardashian’s statement that Cantu was on death row in the state of Texas for committing murder was untrue and demonstrably false.”
Cantu accuses the reality star and law student of invasion of privacy and is alleging that the photograph caused him “emotional and mental anguish, psychological harm, embarrassment, anxiety, loss of sleep, nightmares, post-traumatic stress, headaches, need for medical care, need for emotional counseling and loss of reputation.”
Kim has over 850 million followers on social media. Cantu says her actions were “malicious.”
He’s seeking unspecified damages.