Jimmy Kimmel commissioned ousted congressman George Santos without letting him know it was him. (Screenshots: Jimmy Kimmel Live and Santos’ Cameo account)
Disgraced former congressman George Santos is suing late night host Jimmy Kimmel for airing absurd Cameo videos that Kimmel had commissioned from him late last year. His lawsuit in a New York federal court argues that airing the footage on national television violated the licensing agreement under the site.
The plaintiff complaint said that Kimmel aired five of the 14 videos he commissioned without telling Santos his real identity. The videos include subjects such as congratulating a legally blind driver who earned her license and then also offering his wishes for her to get better after she soon got into a car crash. Other subjects include support for a man who came out as a beaver-platypus furry, and offering congratulations to a woman who successfully cloned her dog named Adolf at the expense of other canines in the trial runs.
As seen on Kimmel’s show, Santos carried out the requests.
“Hey, Brenda, I wanted to congratulate you on successfully cloning your beloved Schnauzer, Adolf,” he said. “I know it was a lot of trials and tribulations, but you finally did it.”
Santos, the right-wing U.S. congressman who ascended to MAGA stardom on a pile of serial fabrications, was arrested last year on a 13-count indictment accusing him of fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds and false statements. He did not even serve a full year as a congressman, as his House colleagues on Dec. 1, 2023, voted 311-114-2 to kick him out. He proudly turned to Cameo as a way to make money.
“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 lawsuit states.
The complaint claims Kimmel’s actions constitute fraud and argue that the Cameo license does not let clients broadcast the videos on national TV without independent negotiation between the client and the celebrity.
Santos sues under copyright infringement, fraudulent inducement, breach of contract, and unjust enrichment.
“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,” they wrote. “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.’ Kimmel’s invitation of the instant lawsuit highlights the Defendants’ brazen disregard for the fact that their ‘prank’ violated the law.”
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