NEW YORK – Former U.S. Rep. George Santos alleged in a lawsuit filed Saturday in New York that late-night host Jimmy Kimmel deceived him into making videos on the Cameo app that were used to ridicule the disgraced lawmaker on the show.
The lawsuit filed in U.S. district court for the southern district of New York, names Kimmel, ABC and Walt Disney Co. as defendants. A Disney representative listed as a media contact for the Jimmy Kimmel Live! show didn’t immediately respond to an email from The Associated Press seeking comment.
Santos, a New York Republican who was expelled from the House of Representatives last year, is suing over alleged copyright infringement, fraudulent inducement, breach of contract and unjust enrichment.
Kimmel misrepresented himself to induce Santos to create personalized videos “capitalizing on and ridiculing” his “gregarious personality,” the lawsuit alleges.
Through Cameo, Santos received requests from individuals and businesses seeking personalized video messages. Unbeknownst to Santos, Kimmel submitted at least 14 requests that used phony names and narratives, according to the complaint.
Starting in December, the videos were played on a segment, “ Will Santos Say It? ” the suit says.
“Frankly, Kimmel’s fake requests were funny, but what he did was clear violation of copyright law,” Robert Fantone, an attorney for Santos, said in an email.
Santos is seeking statutory damages totaling $750,000 for the five videos he created that were played on the show and various social media platforms. He also asks for other damages to be determined at trial.
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