Kim Kardashian is facing a new legal battle after a New York man, who her lawyers previously accused of filing an “unfounded” lawsuit, vowed to overturn a court order requiring him to pay her more than $167,000 in legal fees.
Ivan Cantu initially sued the 45-year-old reality star after she accidentally shared his photo on social media in February 2024, mistakenly identifying him as a Texas death row inmate of the same name who was about to be executed.
Although the defamation case was dismissed last November, a Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled Monday that Cantu must reimburse Kardashian for his legal fees, despite his claims that the bill would destroy him financially.
The dispute began when Kardashian, a prominent advocate for criminal justice reform, posted the wrong photo of Cantu to her 350 million followers.
While his team called it an “honest mistake” that was corrected almost immediately, New York-based Cantu claimed the mix-up caused him lifelong trauma, anxiety and depression.
His lawyer, Greg Sobo, told the Daily Mail They said Tuesday they were proud to support an “innocent victim who has been slandered,” adding that Monday’s ruling was just one step in the process of seeking justice against the “rich and powerful.”
In the recent ruling, Judge Michael Small called Cantu’s argument, that it was unfair to make him pay because Kardashian is wealthy and of modest means, as “unnecessary” on a legal basis.
The judge noted that the income disparity was unrelated to the law, which allows a winning party to recover reasonable attorney’s fees.
Kardashian’s legal team was firm, saying Cantu miscalculated in thinking he could “force a payment” based on his celebrity status, and now had to deal with the consequences of his failed “gamble.”
However, the decision to aggressively pursue the $167,473.69 payment sparked a backlash among fans and social media users.
On a Kardashian-themed subreddit, the star was described as “petty” and “greedy” for chasing such a sum from a private father of two when his own net worth is estimated at more than $1.9 billion.
Critics have argued that while celebrities often do this to discourage frivolous lawsuits, Kardashian should have let this one go given that her team “royally messed up” by using the bad man’s image in such a sensitive context.
As it stands, Cantu’s legal team remains confident that the order will be overturned on appeal, insisting that the current ruling is inconsistent with California law.
Kardashian, who is currently linked to F1 driver Lewis Hamilton, has yet to comment personally on the ongoing friction.
For now, this case is a stark reminder of the immense power of a single social media post and the very different realities of those caught in its wake.
