'Innocent' man ordered to pay Kim Kardashian $167,000 in legal fees

Just over two years ago, Kim Kardashian was sued after sharing an image of the wrong Ivan Cantu.

The reality TV royal had intended to post a photo on social media of a Texas death row inmate who she had attempted to save from execution.

However, she accidentally posted an image of the ‘innocent’ New Yorker which she claimed was an honest mistake and quickly took down.

But Cantu filed a defamation suit and told the court in February 2025 that Kardashian ‘published and disseminated false information' about him that injured his reputation.

It ended up being dismissed and the star’s team sought to recover her legal fees from the man.

And according to court documents, Cantu has to pay the billionaire roughly $167,000 of the $186,000 she requested. He argued this would financially destroy him.

Kim shared the wrong Ivan. (LinkedIn)

However, the Los Angeles Superior Court judge was not persuaded on Monday (11 May) and called his argument against the fees ‘unavailing’.

But his attorney is not convinced. Greg Sobo told the Daily Mail yesterday that this ruling ‘is not consistent with California law and is certain to be overturned’.

The lawyer continued: “We are proud to stand by Ivan Cantu, an innocent victim who was slandered.”

And Sobo seems to reckon that Monday’s ruling is ‘simply one step in the process of obtaining justice against the rich and powerful’.

Arguing against the reimbursement demand, Cantu had cited the discrepancies in the pair’s net worths but Judge Michael Small said he was ‘granting Kardashian’s motion in the main’.

And the judge addressed his arguments ‘that it would be unfair for the court to make him pay Kardashian’s fees and costs because... she is wealthy and he is not’. He therefore called the arguments ‘unavailing’ on a legal basis.

The LADbible Group has contacted representatives for Kim Kardashian for comment.

The Ivan Cantu that Kim was talking about was ultimately executed. (Texas Department of Criminal Justice)

The defamation suit

The Ivan Cantu that Kardashian intended to post an image of was executed at Texas State Penitentiary at Huntsville on 29 February 2024.

He had been convicted of killing his cousin James Mosqueada and his cousin’s fiancée Amy Kitchen in 2001. However, he argued his innocence until the end, as he believed a rival drug dealer killed his cousin in a dispute over cash.

And Kardashian had joined the calls to save Cantu; someone she believed was ‘an innocent man’.

But on 26 February, she shared a public picture of this other Ivan Cantu, and he claimed the error 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 counselling and loss of reputation’.

A California superior court judge ruled in favour of Kardashian who filed an anti-SLAPP motion (a motion to protect free speech against Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation), effectively dismissing Cantu’s lawsuit.