The former U.S. congressman sued the host for displaying videos obtained from the Cameo platform on ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live’
George Santos lost his lawsuit against Jimmy Kimmel. He sued the host in February this year arguing that the production team of Kimmel tricked him into recording videos that were broadcast in a segment called “Will Santos Say It?” — the translation being “Santos will say it?”.
The politician argued that Kimmel infringed his copyright and violated the terms of service of Cameo, a platform where users can pay celebrities to record personalized videos (via Variety).
Decision
On Monday, the U.S. District Judge Denise Cote dismissed Santos‘ lawsuit, stating that Kimmel used the videos to make a political point. Therefore, he was protected under the doctrine of “fair use”.
“If that were the law, it would protect anyone who could trick an artist into creating art, as long as their general purpose and use was to ridicule the artist,” argued Santos‘ lawyers. “This is antithetical to the purpose of copyright law.”
However, the judge disagreed: “In summary, a reasonable viewer would understand that JKL exhibited the videos to comment on the willingness of Santos — a public figure who had been recently expelled from Congress for alleged fraudulent activities, including enriching himself through a fraudulent contribution scheme — to say ridiculous things for money.”
In December of last year, Santos was expelled from Congress after being charged with 23 crimes. He registered on Cameo shortly afterward. On Monday, the 19th, the former U.S. congressman pleaded guilty to fraud charges and is set to be sentenced on February 7. The sentence could reach up to 22 years in prison, according to g1.
Reaction from Jimmy Kimmel
When Kimmel learned of Santos‘ intention to sue him, he joked during Jimmy Kimmel Live: “Can you imagine being sued by George Santos for fraud? Like, how great would that be? It would be a dream come true.”
The production team paid George $400 for each video. In one of them, the politician says: “Hey, Brenda! I want to congratulate you on successfully cloning your beloved schnauzer Adolf.”