George Santos Sues Jimmy Kimmel Over Cameo Prank Videos

Former Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) has filed a lawsuit against Jimmy Kimmel, ABC, and Disney, alleging fraud and copyright infringement. Santos claims that Kimmel’s team deceived him into creating personalized videos on the app Cameo, where he has reportedly earned hundreds of thousands of dollars. The lawsuit, filed in Manhattan federal court, accuses Kimmel of using fake user profiles and phony names to trick Santos into making the videos.

Kimmel’s segment, titled “Will Santos say it?” featured videos of Santos responding to requests made by Kimmel using Cameo. In these videos, Santos congratulates non-existent fans for winning meat-eating contests and cloning their dogs, among other things. Santos argues that Kimmel’s use of these videos infringed on his copyright, as Cameo’s terms of service do not permit users to broadcast videos on national television without permission.

In addition to copyright infringement, Santos accuses Kimmel of fraud, alleging that Kimmel misrepresented himself to obtain the videos for the purpose of ridiculing Santos’ personality. Santos is seeking an injunction to prevent the use of future videos, as well as $750,000 in damages related to five alleged copyright infringements.

Kimmel, however, has dismissed the possibility of a lawsuit, jokingly telling his audience that being sued by Santos would be “like a dream come true.” Santos, who was expelled from Congress in December amid controversy surrounding allegations of lying about his personal life and federal criminal charges related to fraud, has denied any wrongdoing.

Since leaving Congress, Santos has reportedly made more money on Cameo than he did as a congressman, where he earned a $174,000-a-year salary. He has made over 1,200 videos on Cameo, each costing $350.

In a related development, Democrat Tom Suozzi recently won Santos’ vacant seat in a special election, narrowing the GOP’s House majority. Suozzi defeated Republican Mazi Pilip in a snowy election, flipping the seat previously held by Santos.