A man who alleges Kim Kardashian defamed him by mistakenly posting his photo as being that of a man awaiting execution at the time in Texas in 2024 has added a new claim to his lawsuit.
Ivan Cantu’s Los Angeles Superior Court lawsuit was originally filed Feb. 20 and alleged defamation, false light invasion of privacy, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligence. The new claim for misappropriation of likeness was added in an amended complaint brought Wednesday.
“Cantu did not consent to, authorize or otherwise permit Kardashian to use his photograph and/or likeness in her … Instagram post,” the revised complaint states.
Cantu is still seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.
According to Cantu’s court papers, he is a New York resident and was not awaiting execution. Kardashian’s mistaken posting of his photo on Instagram, where she has 350 million followers, and elsewhere on social media in February 2024 has exposed him to “hatred, contempt and/or ridicule,” his court papers state.
Kardashian, 44, was trying to let the public know about the pending execution of a Texas inmate with the same name as the plaintiff and asked her followers to sign a petition requesting that the local district attorney withdraw the scheduled execution date. However, Cantu the inmate was executed in February 2024, the same month as Kardashian’s postings.