Former Representative George Santos has filed a lawsuit against late night host Jimmy Kimmel, alleging that Kimmel deceived him into creating personalized Cameo videos, only to broadcast them on national television and social media without permission. The lawsuit, filed in the Southern District of New York, accuses Kimmel and his production company of copyright infringement, fraudulent inducement, breach of contract, and unjust enrichment. ABC and Disney, the parent company of ABC, are also named as defendants in the lawsuit.
Santos joined the celebrity video message platform Cameo after being expelled from the House, and created fourteen personalized videos for Kimmel in December. However, the lawsuit alleges that Kimmel used fake names and profiles to request these videos from Santos, and then proceeded to broadcast them on his show and share them on social media for commercial gain.
The lawsuit claims that Kimmel misrepresented his motives and induced Santos to create the videos under false pretenses. The licensing agreement for the Cameo videos did not permit their broadcast on national television, yet Kimmel’s team aired them on his show and published them on social media. Santos is seeking at least $150,000 in statutory damages for each infringement, as well as other unspecified damages to be determined at trial. He is also requesting injunctions to prevent the defendants from infringing on his copyrights.
In response to the lawsuit, representatives for Kimmel, ABC, and Disney have been contacted for comment, but have not yet provided a response.
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