CNN –
According to court documents, former Rep. George Santos sued late-night host Jimmy Kimmel for “deceiving” him into making Cameo videos and then unlawfully airing them on his show.
“Defendants openly admitted that they deceived Plaintiff under the guise of fan following by requesting personalized videos and then distributing them on national television and through social media channels for commercial purposes – actions that blatantly violate the original agreement violate and constitute a clear copyright infringement,” the civil lawsuit said.
The lawsuit, filed Saturday in the Southern District of New York, alleges copyright infringement, deceptive inducement, breach of contract and unjust enrichment. ABC, which produces Kimmel's show, and its parent company Disney are also named as defendants.
CNN has reached out to representatives from Kimmel, ABC and Disney for comment.
Just days after the House voted to expel Santos last year, he joined celebrity video messaging platform Cameo, where he gets paid to record personalized video greetings.
According to the lawsuit, Santos created fourteen Cameo videos in December after Kimmel requested them using fake names and profiles.
“Defendant Kimmel misrepresented himself and his motives in order to induce Plaintiff to create personalized videos for the sole purpose of exploiting and ridiculing Plaintiff’s gregarious personality,” the lawsuit states. “Kimmel not only bragged about intentionally deceiving the plaintiff, but also played on the comedic irony of potentially being sued for fraud by the plaintiff, claiming it would be a 'dream come true'.”
The licensing agreement for the Cameo videos does not allow the videos to be broadcast on national television, the lawsuit says. However, Kimmel's team aired some of them on his show and later posted them on social media, the lawsuit says.
Santos requests a jury trial. He is seeking at least $150,000 in statutory damages for each violation, in addition to other unspecified damages to be determined in the lawsuit. He is also seeking preliminary injunctions to prevent the defendants from infringing on his copyrights.