George Santos filed a lawsuit against Jimmy Kimmel. He is suing the television host for $750,000 for alleged fraud. In the lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, the former congressman accused the host of "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" to "trick" him into creating videos for Cameo to broadcast on his night show.
As can be read in the court documents submitted this Saturday to which CNN obtained access, Kimmel is being accused of deceiving the former New York congressman and profiting from said videos, which would mean copyright infringement, fraudulent inducement, breach of contract and unjust enrichment:
Defendants openly admitted to deceiving the Plaintiff under the guise of fandom, soliciting personalized videos only to then broadcast these on national television and across social media channels for commercial gain—actions that starkly violate the original agreement and constitute clear copyright infringement
Five Cameo videos of George Santos, guilty of the lawsuit against Jimmy Kimmel
In total, George Santos explained he recorded a total of 14 videos for Cameo, a website on which people can pay celebrities to record personalized messages. However, these cannot be broadcast on national television. Kimmel shared five videos of Santos on his own night show and then posted them to social media:
Defendant Kimmel misrepresented himself and his motives to induce Plaintiff to create personalized videos for the sole purpose of capitalizing on and ridiculing Plaintiff’s gregarious personality. Kimmel not only boasted about intentionally deceiving Plaintiff, but played on the comedic irony of possibly getting sued by Plaintiff for fraud, claiming that it would be a ‘dream come true.’
Kimmel is not the only one being sued by George Santos. The former congressman also decided to include in his litigation the television network that broadcasts "Jimmy Kimmel Live!," ABC Network, as well as the owner of said channel, The Walt Disney Corporation. Both are facing the same charges that Kimmel is facing and could have to pay, between the three defendants, a total of $750,000, in addition to an amount to be determined for unspecified damages that will be revealed at trial. George Santos has requested a jury trial.
