Expelled Republican New York Rep. George Santos sued late-night television host Jimmy Kimmel for $750,000 Saturday in damages over allegations of copyright infringement and fraud, according to the Associated Press (AP).
Santos filed the lawsuit against Kimmel, ABC and the Walt Disney Company after Kimmel allegedly tricked the former congressman into making videos that were later used to mock him on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” the AP reported.
If you don’t stand up for yourself you will always lose! That’s what I’m doing with this lawsuit. I’m standing my ground and fighting to uphold my legal rights. Jimmy boy thought he could use fraudulent means to violate my copyrights and now he’s going to face the consequences.…
— George Santos (@MrSantosNY) February 18, 2024
The defendants are accused of copyright infringement, fraudulent inducement, breach of contract and unjust enrichment, according to the outlet. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, according to the outlet.
Kimmel allegedly concealed his identity to obtain personalized Cameo videos from Santos to play on the “Will Santos Say It?” segment for his show in December 2023. He allegedly used fake names and narratives when he submitted at least 14 requests for the sake of “capitalizing on and ridiculing” Santos’ “gregarious personality,” the complaint states, according to the outlet.
Five of the videos filmed by Santos aired on Kimmel’s show, the outlet reported. One video featured Santos congratulating the winner of a meat-eating contest for the “amazing and impressive” feat of ingesting six pounds of ground beef in under 30 minutes. (RELATED: Hollywood Studio Announces ‘Gatsby-esque’ Film About GOP Congressman)
“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 was expelled from Congress following a 311-114 vote Dec. 1, 2023. Many Republicans who voted against him being removed from the House pointed to the fact that he had not yet been convicted of a crime. Republican candidate Mazi Melisa Pilip lost the swing-district’s special election Tuesday to replace Santos, ceding the seat to former Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi.