Former U.S. Congressman George Santos filed a lawsuit on Saturday, claiming that Jimmy Kimmel, the late-night host, deceived him into creating videos on the Cameo app, which were subsequently used to mock him on the show.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. district court for the southern district of New York, targets Kimmel, ABC, and Walt Disney Co. as defendants. A representative of Disney listed as a media contact for Jimmy Kimmel Live did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Associated Press.
“Defendants openly admitted to deceiving the Plaintiff under the guise of fandom, soliciting personalized videos only to then broadcast these on national television and across social media channels for commercial gain—actions that starkly violate the original agreement and constitute clear copyright infringement,” the civil lawsuit said.
Santos, who was expelled from the House of Representatives after facing charges of fraud and misappropriation of funds from donors, alleges copyright infringement, fraudulent inducement, breach of contract, and unjust enrichment.
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The lawsuit claims Kimmel misrepresented himself to persuade Santos to create personalized videos, taking advantage of his outgoing personality.
Using the Cameo app, Santos received requests for personalized video messages from various individuals and businesses. However, unbeknownst to Santos, Kimmel submitted at least 14 requests under false names and narratives. These videos were subsequently featured in a “Will Santos Say It?” segment starting in December.
One of the videos shows Santos congratulating the alleged winner of a beef-eating contest, describing the consumption of 6 pounds (2.7 kilograms) of loose ground beef in under 30 minutes as “amazing and impressive.” Robert Fantone, Santos’ attorney, remarked in a mail, “Frankly, Kimmel’s fake requests were funny, but what he did was a clear violation of copyright law,”
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“Defendant Kimmel misrepresented himself and his motives to induce Plaintiff to create personalized videos for the sole purpose of capitalizing on and ridiculing Plaintiff’s gregarious personality,” the lawsuit said. “Kimmel not only boasted about intentionally deceiving Plaintiff, but played on the comedic irony of possibly getting sued by Plaintiff for fraud, claiming that it would be a ‘dream come true.'”
The lawsuit said the licensing agreement for the Cameo videos does not permit broadcasting the videos on national television. However, according to the lawsuit, Kimmel’s team aired some of them on his show and later published them on social media.
Santos seeks statutory damages totaling $750,000 for the five videos played on the show and various social media platforms. Additionally, he requests other damages to be determined during the trial.
The ex-lawmaker faces a slew of criminal charges, including allegations that he defrauded campaign donors, lied to Congress about his wealth, received unemployment benefits while employed, and used campaign contributions to pay for personal expenses like designer clothing.
He also is alleged to have made unauthorized charges on credit cards belonging to some of his donors. Santos pleaded not guilty to a revised indictment in October.
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In a special election held on Tuesday, Democrat Tom Suozzi emerged victorious, securing Santos’ former seat in the House of Representatives.
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