The politician filed the lawsuit on Saturday, February 17 in U.S. district court for the southern district of New York, listing ABC and Walt Disney Co. too as defendants.
- Feb 18, 2024
AceShowbiz - Jimmy Kimmel has been dragged to court by George Santos. The "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" host is being sued by the former U.S. Rep. for allegedly deceiving him into making videos on the Cameo app that were used to roast him on the show.
George filed the lawsuit on Saturday, February 17 in Manhattan federal court, according to the New York Post. Aside from the 56-year-old TV host, the New York Republican listed ABC and Walt Disney Co. as defendants.
George is suing over alleged copyright infringement, fraudulent inducement, breach of contract and unjust enrichment. He claimed Jimmy misrepresented himself to persuade the 35-year-old politician to create personalized videos "capitalizing on and ridiculing" his "gregarious personality."
In the complaint, George said Jimmy submitted at least 14 requests for clips on the site Cameo, where celebrities sell short personalized video messages. Jimmy provided "phony names and narratives" and sent "fake requests ... from fake user profiles created by [Jimmy] as part of the fraud," the lawsuit alleged.
It was unveiled that Jimmy "chose the personal use licenses for all the Cameo videos with the intention to violate such licenses by broadcasting and commercially exploiting the Cameo videos on national television." Jimmy also "played on the comedic irony of possibly getting sued by [George] for fraud, claiming [on his show] that it would be a 'dream come true,' " the suit stated.
Jimmy reportedly joked about possibly getting sued by George in a December 11 episode of his show. "Could you imagine if I get sued by George Santos for a fraud? I mean how good would that be? It would be like a dream come true," the comedian said, according to the suit. "So since I started buying his videos his rates went way up to $500 a piece. He should be thanking me for buying these videos.
"Jimmy, sorry that my Christmas gift to you came late, but here's to making wishes come true," George, who was expelled from the House of Representatives in December 2023 after being charged with multiple counts of fraud and stealing from donors, told The Post. "I hope you enjoy reading your lawsuit for fraud that you've been looking forward to."
