NEW YORK (NEWSnet/AP) — Former U.S. Rep. George Santos alleges in a lawsuit filed that late-night host Jimmy Kimmel deceived him into making videos on that were used to ridicule him.

The lawsuit, filed Saturday in U.S. district court, names Kimmel, ABC and Walt Disney Co. as defendants.

Santos, who was expelled from the House of Representatives in 2023 after being charged with fraud, is suing over alleged copyright infringement, fraudulent inducement, breach of contract and unjust enrichment.

Kimmel misrepresented himself to induce Santos to create videos “capitalizing on and ridiculing” his “gregarious personality,” the lawsuit alleges.

Through Cameo, Santos received requests seeking personalized video messages. Unbeknownst to Santos, Kimmel submitted at least 14 requests that used phony names and narratives, according to the lawsuit.

Beginning in December, the videos were played on a segment, “Will Santos Say It?”

In one of the clips, Santos offers congratulations to the purported winner of a beef-eating contest, calling the feat of consuming 6 pounds of ground beef in under 30 minutes “amazing and impressive.”

“Frankly, Kimmel’s fake requests were funny, but what he did was clear violation of copyright law,” said Robert Fantone, an attorney for Santos.

Santos is seeking statutory damages totaling $750,000 for five videos played on the show and various social media platforms.

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