George Santos, a previous congressman, filed a lawsuit against Jimmy Kimmel, a late-night host, alleging “fraud” about Kimmel’s usage and acquisition of Santos’ Cameo films. The lawsuit, submitted on Saturday, is against the Southern District of New York U.S. District Court and claims copyright infringement, deception, and a violation of the agreement. Disney and ABC are also listed as defendants.
The lawsuit claims that Kimmel submitted video demands of Santos’ brief appearances using “phoney names and narratives” that originated from “fake User profiles” created by the host as a form of “fraud” and that Kimmel did this “for the sole purpose of capitalising on and ridiculing [Santos’] gregarious personality,” which Kimmel purportedly exploited on his television programme. According to the lawsuit, the late-night presenter “falsely represented” himself as several users while submitting the requests. It also alleges that the actions infringe Santos’ copyright and Cameos’ terms of service, as The New York Post first revealed. Santos is requesting damages of at least $750,000.
The complaint stated, “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.” Kimmel added at the time, “Could you imagine if I get sued by George Santos for a fraud. 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.”
