George Santos loses lawsuit against Jimmy Kimmel over Cameo videos

Former Rep. George Santos has lost a federal lawsuit against late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, which centred on the use of Santos’ Cameo videos in a segment on The Jimmy Kimmel Show. The lawsuit, filed by Santos in February, claimed that Kimmel’s show had tricked him into recording the videos, which were then aired in a segment titled “Will Santos Say It?” Santos alleged that Kimmel had infringed on his copyright and violated Cameo's terms of service.

On Monday, U.S. District Judge Denise Cote dismissed the lawsuit, ruling that Kimmel's use of the videos constituted fair use. The judge determined that the videos were used for political commentary, which is protected under the doctrine of fair use. “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 — to say absurd things for money,” the judge wrote in her decision.

Santos, who was expelled from Congress last December following a series of scandals and a 23-count indictment, joined Cameo, a platform where fans can commission personalized video messages from celebrities. Kimmel’s show played several videos commissioned from Santos at $400 each, including one in which Santos congratulated someone on successfully cloning their schnauzer.

When Santos threatened legal action, Kimmel responded on his show, joking, “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.”

Santos’ legal team argued that Kimmel’s actions violated the Cameo agreement and that the fair use doctrine does not protect fraudulent means of obtaining content. However, Judge Cote ruled that Kimmel’s use was “transformative” and intended as political commentary, thus falling within the scope of fair use.

In addition to losing the lawsuit, Santos pleaded guilty on the same day to charges of aggravated identity theft and wire fraud. He is scheduled to be sentenced on February 7.