Former US Republican George Santos alleged in a lawsuit filed on Saturday that late-night host Jimmy Kimmel deceived him into making movies on the Cameo app that have been used to ridicule the disgraced New York Republican on the present.
The lawsuit filed in US district court docket for the southern district of New York names Kimmel, ABC and Walt Disney Co. as defendants. A Disney consultant listed as a media contact for the Jimmy Kimmel Stay! present didn’t instantly reply to an electronic mail from The Related Press looking for remark.
Santos, who was expelled from the Home of Representatives final 12 months after being charged with a number of counts of fraud and stealing from donors, is suing over alleged copyright infringement, fraudulent inducement, breach of contract and unjust enrichment.
Kimmel misrepresented himself to induce Santos to create personalised movies “capitalizing on and ridiculing” his “gregarious character,” the lawsuit alleges.
By means of Cameo, Santos acquired requests from people and companies looking for personalised video messages. Unbeknownst to Santos, Kimmel submitted a minimum of 14 requests that used phony names and narratives, in response to the criticism.
Beginning in December, the movies have been performed on a section, “Will Santos say it?” the swimsuit says.
In one of many clips, Santos presents congratulations to the purported winner of a beef-eating contest, calling the feat of consuming 6 kilos (2.7 kilograms) of free floor beef in beneath half-hour “superb and spectacular.”
“Frankly, Kimmel’s faux requests have been humorous, however what he did was a transparent violation of copyright regulation,” Robert Fantone, an legal professional for Santos, mentioned in an electronic mail.
Santos is looking for statutory damages totaling $750,000 for the 5 movies he created that have been performed on the present and numerous social media platforms. He additionally asks for different damages to be decided at trial.
The ex-lawmaker faces a slew of prison fees, together with allegations that he defrauded marketing campaign donors, lied to Congress about his wealth, acquired unemployment advantages whereas employed and used marketing campaign contributions to pay for private bills like designer clothes. He is also alleged to have made unauthorized fees on bank cards belonging to a few of his donors.
Santos pleaded not responsible to a revised indictment in October.
On Tuesday, Democrat Tom Suozzi gained a particular election for Santos’ former seat.
