Kim Kardashian’s boyfriend Jonathan Cheban is suing for $20 million over a bottle of Korean BBQ sauce ‘inexplicably exploded’ and cut off his hand
Jonathan Cheban, Kim Kardashian’s best friend, is suing a Korean barbecue sauce company.
The culinary connoisseur, who legally changed his name to Foodgod, claims he was injured by a bottle of San-J’s Korean BBQ sauce, which he says broke into shards and cut his hand.
Cheban, 49, claimed in lawsuits that he purchased the sauce in October 2020 from a supermarket in Jacksonville, Florida.
He said he put the sauce in the fridge when he got home and took it out a few hours later when he was preparing dinner. TMZ.
The foodie claimed the bottle “inexplicably exploded,” resulting in a large cut on his hand, causing “considerable loss of blood.”
Lawsuit: Kim Kardashian’s best friend Jonathan Cheban, 49, is suing a Korean BBQ sauce company and bottle manufacturer, alleging that a bottle of San-J’s Korean BBQ sauce “inexplicably exploded,” resulting in a large cut on his hand
Cheban said the cut was close to “the major arteries in his wrist.”
He submitted photos in the court documents showing a hand sewn shut and a cracked bottle reportedly with the seal still on the cap.
Nearly three years after the incident, Cheban claims he suffered nerve damage and persistent pain.
The influencer said the injury has affected his livelihood as he has “lost the ability to use his hand in his social media posts, in his advertising and in his ability to sponsor various food products.”
He is suing the San-J’s and the company that made the bottle for $20 million.
According to a 2021 profile in the New York PostCheban had more than 40 endorsements at the time.
The publication reported that he was either paid a monthly stipend ranging from $10,000 to $30,000 a month or he would receive a small share of the company to become the face of a project.
Cheban met Kim Kardashian, 42, more than a decade ago at the birthday party of their mutual friend Brittny Gastineau, daughter of former NFL star Mark Gastineau.
Foodgod: Cheban, who legally changed his name to Foodgod in 2019, claimed the incident happened in Florida in 2020 and resulted in nerve damage and ongoing pain. He is seeking $20 million in damages
Livelihood: The influencer said the injury has affected his livelihood as he “lost the ability to use his hand in his social media posts, in his advertising and in his ability to sponsor various food products”
The two became good friends and Cheban eventually landed on camera on season three of Keeping Up with the Kardashians, eventually appearing in 27 episodes of the reality show.
He also appeared in more than a dozen episodes of the KUWTK spinoff, Kourtney and Kim Take Miami, according to IMDB.
Some of Cheban’s followers have gotten wind of the lawsuit and have ridiculed him on social media.
“Is the rent due?” one commenter wondered, adding, “Getting finance to me is faster than a lawsuit against a small company that literally did nothing to you.”
Another chastised the star on social media, writing: “There are people with real problems, severe disabilities, who don’t have access to clean water and you are trying to sue because a bottle broke. I wish you the best, but do better!’