(New York) Former U.S. Rep. George Santos alleged in a lawsuit filed Saturday that late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel tricked him into making videos on the Cameo app, which were used to ridicule the disgraced New York Republican on the show.
The complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York names Mr. Kimmel, ABC and Walt Disney as defendants. A Disney representative listed as media contact for Jimmy Kimmel Live! did not immediately respond to an email from The Associated Press seeking comment.
Mr. Santos, who was expelled from the House of Representatives last year after being accused of multiple counts of fraud and theft from donors, is suing for alleged copyright infringement, fraudulent inducement, breach of contract and unjust enrichment.
Mr. Kimmel misrepresented himself to encourage Mr. Santos to create personalized videos “capitalizing and ridiculing” his “gregarious personality,” according to the indictment.
PHOTO CHRIS PIZZELLO, CHRIS PIZZELLO/INVISION/AP
Jimmy Kimmel
Through Cameo, Mr. Santos has received requests from individuals and businesses looking for personalized video messages. Unbeknownst to Mr. Santos, Mr. Kimmel submitted at least 14 applications using false names and stories, according to the complaint.
Starting in December, the videos aired in a segment called “Will Santos Say It?” » (Will Santos say it?), the complaint says.
In one of the videos, Mr. Santos congratulates the purported winner of a beef-eating competition, calling the feat of consuming 2.7 kilograms of ground beef in less than 30 minutes “incredible and impressive.”
“Frankly, Kimmel’s false claims were funny, but what he did was a blatant violation of copyright law,” Robert Fantone, Mr. Santos’ lawyer, argued in an email.
Mr. Santos is seeking damages totaling $750,000 for the five videos he created that were broadcast on the show as well as on various social media platforms. He also asks that other damages be determined at trial.
The former lawmaker faces a series of criminal charges, including allegations that he defrauded campaign donors, lied to Congress about his wealth, received unemployment benefits while employed and misused his contributions campaign to pay for personal expenses such as designer clothing. He also allegedly made unauthorized charges on the credit cards belonging to some of his donors.
Mr. Santos pleaded not guilty to a revised indictment in October.
On Tuesday, Democrat Tom Suozzi won a special election for Mr. Santos’s old seat.