Kim Kardashian confuses death row inmate with New York man

NEW YORK (PIX11) -- The phone calls Ivan Cantu started getting on his 60th birthday were alarming. Instead of well-wishes, friends, and family were wondering why Kim Kardashian was on Instagram showing his photo and pleading for a stay of execution.

"This will be a precedent-setting case," said Cantu's attorney Greg Sobo.

The reality star, billionaire businesswoman and aspiring lawyer Kim Kardashian may be learning a lesson in the law after a social media mistake.

Flashback to last February 2024—Kardashian posted a man's photo to her Instagram story. She asked her 350 million followers to help petition against the execution of Ivan Cantu, a death row inmate in Texas.

Only the Ivan Cantu she showed was a 60-year-old businessman from Westchester County, not the convicted double murderer.

"He started to receive messages from people he knew and strangers about being executed," Sobo said.

While the murderer was ultimately executed, Sobo is now representing the businessman and father, who is very much alive and has just filed a lawsuit against Kardashian. The suit claims libel, negligence, slander, emotional distress and more.

"He's been in therapy, has depression, PTSD, night sweats, nightmares—he's still working through it," Sobo said.

The Instagram post was up for more than five hours before being deleted, he claims.

Kardashian's attorney told PIX11 News it was a simple mistake, saying: "The image was taken down almost immediately once the error was discovered. We’d prefer to solve this without litigation, but of course will defend Kim as needed."

The 44-year-old began her criminal justice reform work in 2018 and has successfully helped several inmates get clemency while working toward earning her law license.

"You can’t give up on something. If you want to make it happen, you can—no matter what," she said on an episode of The Kardashians, and was still in law school as of late last year.

The Kardashian legal team has 20 days to respond to Cantu's lawsuit, which seeks unspecified damages. Mr. Sobo said their goal is to help make social media a safer space for everyone.