Jimmy Kimmel’s pranks got George Santos so mad he’s suing the late-night host

Disgraced congressmember George Santos is suing comedian Jimmy Kimmel over a prank. For the prank, the late-night host submitted requests under fake names to the disgraced former congressman’s Cameo account and then aired the clips on his show.

In the lawsuit filed over the weekend, Santos accuses Kimmel of copyright infringement, fraud, breach of contract, and unjust enrichment and seeks $750,000 in damages, NBC News reported. According to the New York Post, the suit alleges that Kimmel violated Cameo’s terms of service when he submitted at least 14 requests for videos under fake names. The suit, which also names ABC and parent company Disney, claims that Kimmel solicited the videos “for the sole purpose of capitalizing on and ridiculing [Santos’] gregarious personality.”

Related:

George Santos says Jimmy Kimmel scammed him & owes him $21,800

George Santos will say anything for the right price. Now he’s mad at that Jimmy Kimmel paid him to say ridiculous things.

On the December 7 episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the host debuted a segment called “Will Santos Say It,” featuring Cameo videos that the ousted New York Republican recorded in response to Kimmel’s absurd prompts. In his opening monologue, Kimmel said he’d sent the requests anonymously to see if Santos would actually make the videos, and noted that he had about a dozen clips to parcel out on his show over the coming week.

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Santos later threatened to take Kimmel to court, alleging that the host and his team violated Cameo’s terms of service by purchasing the videos for personal use and then airing them on his ABC show, which could be considered business use. Kimmel aired two more videos on December 11, noting the irony of potentially being sued by Santos, whose lies about his education, professional history, and biography have been well-reported, and who was expelled from Congress after a House Ethics Committee report found “substantial evidence” that he used campaign funds for his personal expenses and “sought to fraudulently exploit every aspect of his House candidacy for his own personal financial profit.”

“Can 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,” Kimmel joked.

According to the New York Post, Santos’s lawyer sent a cease and desist letter to Kimmel, ABC, and the executive producer of Jimmy Kimmel Live! on December 12, accusing the host of fraud.

As of February 20, Kimmel’s opening monologues from his December 7 and December 11 shows, which include the “Will Santos Say It” segments, are still on the official Jimmy Kimmel Live! YouTube channel.

“Jimmy, sorry that my Christmas gift to you came late, but here’s to making wishes come true,” Santos told the Post on Saturday. “I hope you enjoy reading your lawsuit for fraud that you’ve been looking forward to.”