David Liebensohn: Homeless Kimoji app co-creator says Kim Kardashian ruined his life after losing $2M fortune, home and wife
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: David Liebensohn, a 43-year-old software developer, was part of the team behind the highly successful 'Kimoji' app, which featured Kardashian-themed emojis and reportedly generated a staggering $1 million per minute. However, despite its massive popularity, Liebensohn and his colleagues claim they were left financially ruined when their deal fell apart due to misunderstandings and what they see as Kim Kardashian's uncompromising legal approach through her lawyer Marty Singer. As a result, they had no choice but to walk away from the project and forfeit their potential earnings. Liebensohn's situation is dire, as he claims to be living out of his car and has created a website using only his iPhone 13, which he has named "www.kimkardashianruinedmylife.com".
In 2019, Liebensohn filed a lawsuit against Kardashian for alleged theft of his idea and trademark for the 'Kimoji' app, seeking a massive $300 million in damages. He told DailyMail.com that he wants to reveal the truth about the Kardashians and refused to be silenced, even if something were to happen to him. However, Kardashian's legal team maintains that Liebensohn voluntarily relinquished all rights to the app, giving her complete ownership of Kimoji.
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What happened to Liebensohn?
Liebensohn and his team had struck a deal with Kardashian's team for a profit-sharing arrangement on Kimoji and their anti-cyberbullying app, CensorGram. Kardashian was also set to be the face of the latter. Unfortunately, the deal soured, and Liebensohn was forced to withdraw his $300 million lawsuit as his legal fees spiraled out of control, leading to the loss of his $2 million business, his home, and ultimately, his family.
In his words to the Daily Mail.com, Liebensohn revealed that he now lives in his 2011 Toyota Prius to save on rent and showers in the gym. He created a website, www.kimkardashianruinedmylife.com, using his iPhone 13, the only technology he still owns, to share his story with others. He has since moved to Los Angeles and has been waving a placard on Hollywood streets, stating, "Kim Kardashian ruined my life," hoping to gain traction both online and offline.
What happened in the deal?
Liebensohn's lawsuit alleges that he, along with his partners Narayan Shankar and Daniel Rice, developed CensorGram in 2014 to safeguard social media users' accounts from bullying and spammers while also creating 'sexy' emoji content that caught Kim's eye. Kim's friend, Jonathan Cheban, allegedly contacted them to arrange a meeting and potential investment after Kim expressed interest. According to Liebensohn's lawsuit, they met at Kris Jenner's home in Calabasas in July 2014, where they agreed to a 60/40 profit split on Kimoji in favor of Liebensohn and his partners, and a 50/50 split on CensorGram.
However, as per Liebensohn's lawsuit, the deal soured quickly when Kardashian demanded that her team filed the Kimoji trademark application herself, so that "there was no need for them to bear the cost." Five minutes later, she called back to say that she had a screenshot of an email sent by Shankar to a mutual friend, which contained personal information, and she threatened to send it out to "all of Chicago." Kim then backed out of the deal and threatened to sue them for $5 million. Liebensohn and his partners were left terrified when Kardashian's Hollywood attorney, Singer, sent them a legal threat for causing Kim "emotional distress and defamation" and demanded that they sign a settlement agreement.
