Former congressman sues host, claiming he “falsely represented” himself when requesting Santos’ Cameos
Former Congressman George Santos has sued late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, accusing him of “fraud” over the use and obtainment of Santos’ Cameo videos. The suit, filed on Saturday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, alleges fraud, breach of contract, unjust enrichment and copyright infringement. ABC and Disney are also named as defendants.
According to the complaint, Kimmel used “phony names and narratives” to submit video requests of Santos’ Cameos, which were sent from “fake User profiles” made by the host as part of “fraud” “for the sole purpose of capitalizing on and ridiculing [Santos’] gregarious personality,” which Kimmel allegedly misused on his show. The late-night host “falsely represented” himself as multiple users when making the requests, per the suit, and it claims the moves violate Cameos terms of service along with violating Santos’ copyright, as The New York Post first reported. Santos is seeking at least $750,000 in damages.
“Kimmel chose the personal use licenses for all the Cameo Videos with the intention to violate such licenses by broadcasting and commercially exploiting the Cameo Videos on national television,” according to the complaint.
Reps for ABC, Disney, and Kimmel did not immediately respond to Rolling Stone’s requests for comment.
Per the suit, Kimmel even joked about being sued by Santos in the wake of the alleged “fraud,” during a Dec. 11 episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live.
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“Could you imagine if I get sued by George Santos for a fraud,” Kimmel said at the time. “I mean how good would that be? It would be like a dream come true. So since I started buying his videos his rates went way up to $500 a piece. He should be thanking me for buying these videos.”
In December, Santos was expelled from the House of Representatives following an Ethics Committee investigation and being indicted and arrested on charges of wire fraud, money laundering, and lying to Congress. Shortly afterward, he launched his reportedly lucrative Cameo video-making career.
