George Santos Files Lawsuit Against Jimmy Kimmel Over Mockery of His “Outgoing Persona”

Former New York Representative, George Santos, has initiated legal action against Jimmy Kimmel, accusing the late-night host of engaging in unlawful activities by generating fabricated requests on the celebrity video app Cameo.

The lawsuit, filed in a federal court in New York on Saturday, lists Jimmy Kimmel, ABC, and Walt Disney Co. as defendants and alleges copyright infringement, fraudulent inducement, breach of contract, and unjust enrichment.

In a social media post on X (formerly Twitter), Santos declared, "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.

It's really that simple. My legal case is unassailable, there's no question I am in the right."

The legal dispute arises from Santos' post-Congress career, which began after his expulsion in early December due to a damning ethics investigation revealing widespread misuse of campaign funds.

Santos had set up a Cameo account, a platform where users can pay celebrities for personalized videos, shortly after his expulsion.

Within two days, he claimed to have secured enough videos to surpass his previous $174,000 congressional annual salary.

The lawsuit contends that at least fourteen requests Santos received in early December were from fake accounts linked to Kimmel, featuring "phony names and narratives."

These requests included scripts for Santos to deliver congratulatory messages for cloning a schnauzer named Adolf and consuming "six pounds of ground beef in under 30 minutes." Kimmel showcased five of these videos on a segment titled, "Will Santos Say It?"

Santos' lawyer had previously sent Kimmel a cease-and-desist letter on December 12, referring to the host as a "sneaky little trickster."

In the lawsuit, Santos accuses Kimmel of violating the app's terms of service and infringing upon Santos' copyright.

It further claims that Kimmel paid for the videos "for the sole purpose of capitalizing on and ridiculing [Santos'] gregarious personality." The former congressman is seeking $750,000 in damages.

The lawsuit cites Kimmel joking about the possibility of legal action on one of his segments, where he said, "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.

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."