From the Irony Department: Ex-Congressman George Santos Sues Jimmy Kimmel and Disney for…Fraud

In the history of America, there have only been six members of Congress who have been expelled from the House of Representatives. Three of them were removed for supporting the South during the Civil War, and two more were expelled for being convicted of crimes.

And that leaves the sixth: former New York Representative George Santos. Santos was expelled from the House last year after the House Ethics Committee found that he had misused campaign funds and committed fraud for lying about his past, including saying that his mother, who is very much alive, was killed during the September 11th Attacks on the World Trade Center.

Related: Disney Was Pressured to Censor Jimmy Kimmel

After he was expelled from the House, Rep George Santos decided to make a living by making cameo videos online. The congressman was paid to relay messages to fans or anyone who would pay, and that’s where a new lawsuit by the disgraced New York Republican comes in.

One of Santos’ clients for his cameo videos was late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, who pretended to be someone else and asked Santos to read various messages. Kimmel then used those videos to “punk and prank” Santos on his show, Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Former Rep George Santos has filed a lawsuit against Jimmy Kimmel, ABC, and the Walt Disney Company for fraud and copyright infringement, claiming that Kimmel misrepresented himself when he asked the congressman to make the videos and that by airing the videos on his show, Jimmy Kimmel violated the terms of Cameo’s agreement. As a part of the agreement, Cameo videos are not allowed to be used for commercial broadcasts, which Kimmel did.

Related: Disney Finds Itself Stuck in a Feud Between Two of Its Biggest Stars

Santos’ lawsuit reads:

At the heart of this dispute lies the deliberate deception and wrongful appropriation of the Plaintiff’s digital content by the Defendants, orchestrated through the platform Cameo.com, where celebrities and public figures are meant to connect with their fans through personalized video messages. Defendants openly admitted to deceiving the Plaintiff under the guise of fandom, soliciting personalized videos only to then broadcast these on national television and across social media channels for commercial gain—actions that starkly violate the original agreement and constitute clear copyright infringement.

Kimmel’s Pranks

The pranks of former Congressman George Santos started on Jimmy Kimmel Live! last December. Kimmel and his staff cooked up several outrageous messages to see if Santos would say them, and the answer was yes.

Kimmel said on his show:

I sent him a bunch of crazy video requests because I wanted to see what he would read and what he wouldn’t read, and I showed some of them on the air on Thursday, and now he’s demanding $20,000 from me to be paid a commercial rate. Could you imagine if I get sued by George Santos for a fraud? I mean how good would that be? It would be like a dream come true.

In one of the messages, Kimmel posed as “Uncle Joe” and asked Santos to praise his “blind niece” for passing her driving test. The bit continued with:

That said, the day after she got her license, she got in a really bad car accident so if you could also wish her a speedy recovery that would be amazing. She’s in a bodycast and is a very bummed out – but with help from Jesus and President Trump, soon she will be back on the road!

But despite Santos’ willingness to make the videos and his bragging online about how much money he was making on cameo videos, he still wants more from Kimmel, ABC, and Disney. Santos and his legal teams seek $750,000 and other damages to be determined at trial.

So, despite this sounding like an article The Onion would cook up, without even considering the dripping irony, former Congressman George Santos is, in fact, suing Jimmy Kimmel, ABC, and the Walt Disney Company for fraud.

Let us know your thoughts about Santos suing Kimmel for fraud in the comments.