Former U.S. Rep. George Santos has filed a lawsuit accusing late-night host Jimmy Kimmel of deceiving him into creating videos on the Cameo app that were later used to mock him on the show. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. district court for the southern district of New York, names Kimmel, ABC, and Walt Disney Co. as defendants.
A Disney representative listed as a media contact for the Jimmy Kimmel Live! show has not responded to a request for comment. Santos, who was removed from the House of Representatives last year due to fraud and theft charges, is suing for copyright infringement, fraudulent inducement, breach of contract, and unjust enrichment.
The lawsuit claims that Kimmel misrepresented himself to convince Santos to make personalized videos that would mock his personality. Through Cameo, Santos received requests for personalized videos, but Kimmel allegedly submitted at least 14 requests with fake names and stories without Santos’ knowledge. These videos were later featured in a segment called “Will Santos Say It?” starting in December.
In a video, Santos extends his congratulations to the alleged champion of a beef-eating competition, praising the accomplishment of devouring 6 pounds (2.7 kilograms) of ground beef in less than 30 minutes as “amazing and impressive.”
“Frankly, Kimmel’s fake requests were funny, but what he did was clear violation of copyright law,” Robert Fantone, an attorney for Santos, said in an email.
Santos is pursuing statutory damages amounting to $750,000 for the five videos he produced that were aired on the program and different social media channels. Additionally, he is requesting for additional damages to be decided during the trial.
