This week is starting out to be a rough one for George Santos. In addition to pleading guilty to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft on Monday, the disgraced former congressman just lost a federal lawsuit against Jimmy Kimmel.
The former New York representative—who was expelled from Congress in December 2023 after he was charged with 23 felony counts—filed a lawsuit against the late-night host in February for airing his Cameo videos on the air.
Jimmy Kimmel Live! staffers commissioned over a dozen Cameo videos from Santos, which the show would then broadcast for a segment they dubbed “Will Santos Say It?” Santos alleged that Kimmel tricked him into recording the ridiculous videos, claiming the host had infringed on his copyright, violated Cameo’s terms of service, and committed fraud.
Today, however, U.S. District Judge Denise Cote dismissed Santos’ lawsuit against Kimmel and ABC. In her ruling, she found that Kimmel used the videos for political commentary—a “transformative” purpose—and that his actions were thereby protected under the “fair use” doctrine.
“A reasonable observer would understand that [Kimmel] 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,” Cote said. “Thus, the Videos were used for political commentary and criticism, purposes that do not supersede the ‘objects’ of the original Videos.”
Kimmel has never seemed too worried about the whole ordeal, and even encouraged Santos to sue him. “Can you imagine if I get sued by George Santos for fraud?” he said on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. “I mean, how good would that be? It would be like a dream come true.”
For his criminal charges, Santos faces a minimum of two years in prison and is required to pay restitution of $373,000. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for February 2025.
