Former Rep. George Santos filed a lawsuit Saturday against talk show host Jimmy Kimmel for using his Cameo videos on the late-night program.
Santos has solicited Cameo videos from paying subscribers, including Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), for example, who hired the former congressman to make a video offering counsel to Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ). However, Santos alleges in his lawsuit that Kimmel paid for videos under “phony names” and made “fake requests … from fake user profiles created by Kimmel as part of the fraud.” Then, those videos were aired during the talk show, which Santos alleges could be copyright infringement, fraud, breach of contract, and unjust enrichment.
“Could you imagine if I get sued by George Santos for fraud?” Kimmel said during a Dec. 11, 2023, episode. “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.”
An attorney representing Santos sent a cease-and-desist letter to Kimmel the day after that episode, demanding clips be removed from the show’s accounts on YouTube and TikTok. The Cameos remain online.
“Kimmel committed fraud and violated civil rights and federal coup right [sic] laws along with licensing agreements,” Santos wrote on X Saturday. Later, he wrote another message seemingly directed at Kimmel that read, “F*** around and find out.”
Neither ABC nor Disney representatives from the show responded to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.
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Santos is seeking $750 million in damages in the suit.
The former New York representative was expelled from Congress in December 2023. He has pleaded not guilty to 23 federal charges of fraud.
