Yet another lawsuit has popped up around Disney and ABC. This time, former Representative George Santos has filed a civil case against Jimmy Kimmel for “copyright infringement, fraud, breach of contract, and unjust enrichment.” Santos is seeking at least $750k in damages. His filing names “Jimmy Kimmel Live” network ABC and parent company Disney as well.
Santos alleges that Mr. Kimmel ordered at least 14 videos of the former representative from Cameo with the purpose of using the clips to make fun of him during his show.
For those who don’t know, Cameo is a website where you can purchase personalized videos from personalities for a fee. At the time Kimmel began ordering the videos, the cost for Santos was $400 per piece; later, the price went up to $500 per recording.
The complaint argues that Kimmel or his team used fake names and narratives to send fake requests in order to get Santos to make videos that they could later mock during the show. According to The New York Post, some of the scripts and prompts given to Santos were “congratulating a woman for successfully cloning her schnauzer named Adolf, as well as a man for winning a competitive ground beef eating contest.”
Santos’s attorney is also alleging that Kimmel violated the terms of service for Cameo.
In December, Santo’s attorney also sent a “cease and desist” letter to Kimmel and the show asking them to remove the content, but they apparently did not do so as it has been escalated to a civil suit.
Kimmel even made jokes about the possibility of getting sued over the stunt during a show, saying:
“Could you imagine if I get sued by George Santos for 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.”
Well, I guess he got his wish.
What do you think? Comment and let us know!
Sources: New York Post, CNBC
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