Jimmy Kimmel on Tuesday night responded to a lawsuit filed by former Rep. George Santos, mocking the disgraced politician’s legal action as “preposterous.”
“Did anyone else get sued by George Santos this weekend? I am currently embroiled in what may be the most preposterous lawsuit of all time,” Kimmel told his audience.
Santos, who was expelled from Congress in December, sued Kimmel, ABC and its parent company Disney over the weekend in the Southern District of New York over a series of videos the comedian aired on his show.
Since Santos was removed from his House seat, he has offered personalized videos on the website Cameo, which allows users to request messages from celebrities and other popular figures for a fee. Kimmel allegedly used the service by creating fake profiles to purchase clips of Santos making absurd comments, then aired them as part of a segment called, “Will Santos Say It?”
In his lawsuit, Santos alleged Kimmel was guilty of “deceiving” him into making the videos.
“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,” the civil lawsuit said.
Kimmel poked fun at the ironic nature of the lawsuit during his Tuesday program.
“He says we deceived him under the guise of fandom soliciting personalized videos, only to then broadcast these on national television,” Kimmel joked.
“And if there’s one thing George Santos will not stand for,” Kimmel added, “it’s using a fake name under false pretenses.”
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