George Santos Loses Lawsuit Against Jimmy Kimmel Over Cameo Videos

On the day he pleaded guilty to federal crimes, former Rep. George Santos also saw a federal lawsuit he had filed against Jimmy Kimmel dismissed in court. Santos had accused Kimmel of using his Cameo videos without permission.

The lawsuit was initiated by Santos in February, alleging that Kimmel’s show had coaxed him into creating ridiculous videos, which were later aired in a segment called “Will Santos Say It?”

Santos claimed that this act constituted a copyright infringement and was a violation of Cameo’s terms of service.

On Monday, U.S. District Judge Denise Cote rejected the lawsuit, stating that Kimmel’s use of the videos was for political commentary and thus protected by the fair use doctrine.

Santos was expelled from Congress last December following multiple scandals, including a 23-count indictment. He later joined Cameo, a platform where fans can pay celebrities to create personalized video greetings.

Jimmy Kimmel’s team utilized this platform, commissioning several videos from Santos at $400 each for a segment on “The Jimmy Kimmel Show.”

“Hey Brenda!” Santos began in one video. “I wanted to congratulate you on successfully cloning your beloved schnauzer Adolf.”

When Santos threatened legal action, Kimmel responded enthusiastically.

“Can you imagine if I get sued by George Santos for fraud?” Kimmel said on his show. “I mean, how good would that be? It would be like a dream come true.”

Arguing that the fair use doctrine doesn’t permit fraudulent acquisition of a video for broadcast, Santos’ legal team tried to make their case.

“Were this the law it would protect anyone who could trick an artist into making art so long as their overall purpose and use was to ridicule the artist,” Santos’ lawyers stated. “This is antithetical to the purpose of the copyright statute.”

However, Judge Cote found no support for this argument in copyright law. She concluded that Kimmel’s use of the Cameo videos had a transformative purpose, political commentary, which is protected by fair use.

“In short, a reasonable observer would understand that JKL showed the Videos to comment on the willingness of Santos — a public figure who had recently been expelled from Congress for allegedly fraudulent activity including enriching himself through a fraudulent contribution scheme — to say absurd things for money,” the judge explained.

On Monday, Santos pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated identity theft and wire fraud. His sentencing is scheduled for February 7.