- George Santos said Jimmy Kimmel “misrepresented” him when requesting cameo videos.
- The former rep is suing the TV host for at least $750,000 in damages.
- Kimmel submitted several video requests to Santos under false names, to which Santos obliged.
Former Rep. Jorge Santos has accused Jimmy Kimmel of cheating by creating videos in cameos that were used to mock the late-night TV host's eponymous talk show.
In a civil suit against Kimmel filed Saturday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, the disgraced Republican claims Kimmel misrepresented him to prompt Santos to make “capricious and mocking” personalized videos. AP News.
Santos is seeking at least $750,000 in damages for fraud, breach of contract, unjust enrichment and copyright infringement. In this case Walt Disney Co. and ABC were also named as defendants.
According to the complaint, Kimmel submitted at least 14 video requests to Santos using fake identities. Five of these episodes appeared on “Jimmy Kimmel! Live” in a segment, “Would Santos say?” and on the show's various social media platforms.
According to Rolling StoneThe complaint alleges that Kimmel “selected personal use licenses for all cameo videos with the intent to violate such licenses by broadcasting the cameo videos on national television and commercially exploiting them.”
In one request, Kimmel asked Santos to congratulate him on winning the beef-eating contest. Santos rightfully credits his feat of eating six pounds of lean beef in less than 30 minutes as “amazing and impressive,” to which he responded. December 7 episode of “Jimmy Kimmel! Live.”
Santos was expelled from the House of Representatives in early December 2023 following multiple fraud allegations and reports of poor ethics.
Santos, Kimmel, Walt Disney Co. And representatives for ABC did not respond to Business Insider's request for comment, sent outside regular business hours.
Within a week of being kicked out of Congress, Santos began selling videos of himself in cameos. Post a message to fans for a price.
Santos sold videos on the platform for $75, before raising the price to $150 and then to $500. As of February 2024, he is still active on the platform and his videos cost $277.
As the lawsuit notes, Kimmel joked about being sued by Santos on a Dec. 11 episode of his ABC show.
“Can you imagine if I was sued by George Santos for a fraud,” Kimmel said. “I mean, how cool would that be? It would be a dream come true. So since I started buying his videos, his price went up to $500. He should thank me for buying these videos.”
