Jimmy Kimmel wants a court to throw out George Santos' lawsuit against him, arguing he made the former representative richer.
Santos filed a federal lawsuit against the late-night TV host in February, accusing him of deceptively obtaining Cameo videos, which he then aired on his eponymous ABC talk show.
The New York Republican was expelled from the House in early December 2023 following a House Ethics Committee report that accused the then-congressman of using his campaign funds for personal use, engaging in "fraudulent conduct" and filing "false or incomplete reports" to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) while running for office in 2022. Santos has always maintained his innocence.
In the days following his expulsion, Santos turned to the video messaging platform Cameo to make some money. The platform allows high-profile people to record messages for fans at a fee.
At the time, Kimmel made requests to Santos under fake names, according to Santos' lawsuit filed in Manhattan federal court and Kimmel's motion to dismiss. He then shared clips of Santos recorded on his show in December during a segment titled "Will Santos Say It?"
Santos then sued Kimmel, ABC and its parent company Disney for copyright infringement, fraudulent inducement, breach of contract and unjust enrichment. He is seeking $150,000 per infringement for statutory damages.
However, Kimmel's lawyers have argued that Kimmel's airing of the Cameos on his show fell within the realm of "classic fair use" because they were segments "political commentary on, and criticism of" video clips created "by a major public
figure."
The motion to dismiss the lawsuit also slammed Santos' accusations of fraud against Kimmel, arguing he could not plausibly claim financial damages because "he is about $5,000 richer for having made these videos."
Newsweek contacted Kimmel's lawyers and representatives by email for comment.
"Their motion is meritless," Andrew Mancilla, Santos' lawyer, told Newsweek following Kimmel's motion.
Santos' suit says Kimmel "reproduced, distributed, and publicly displayed" five Cameo videos on the show and social media without Santos' permission.
He also alleged that Kimmel "misrepresented himself and his motives to induce" the ex-congressman to make the video content "for the sole purpose of capitalizing on and ridiculing [Santos'] gregarious personality."
"Kimmel didn't need to commit fraud and copyright infringement to make people laugh," Mancilla told Newsweek in February.
The suit also claimed that "Kimmel not only boasted about intentionally deceiving [Santos], but played on the comedic irony of possibly getting sued by [Santos] for fraud, claiming that it would be a 'dream come true.'"
Update 04/30/24, 8:53 a.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from Andrew Mancilla.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Shannon Power is a Greek-Australian reporter, but now calls London home. They have worked as across three continents in print, ... Read more
