George Santos and Jimmy Kimmel's feud has escalated as the former New York congressman is reportedly threatening to sue the late-night talk show host and ABC for what he claims is the misuse of his Cameo clips.

The controversy emerged when Kimmel revealed on his show's Dec. 11 episode that Santos had demanded $20,000 after anonymously submitting requests to Santos' account on Cameo, a platform where celebrities offer short greetings for a fee, asking him to read prank scripts and then showing several of the personalized videos he purchased from the expelled House member on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!"

Santos' lawyer, Andrew Mancilla, reportedly issued a "cease and desist" letter to Kimmel, ABC and the executive producer of the show, Doug Deluca, Tuesday, asserting that the host should have obtained Santos' consent before featuring the Cameo clips.

The letter, obtained by the New York Post, stated, "We are writing to congratulate you -- your 'dream' of being sued by Mr. Santos may indeed come true." 

It emphasized the need for consent and suggested that Santos was aware of the irony of suing Kimmel for fraud.

Santos' attorney accused Kimmel of breaching Cameo's Terms of Service and raised concerns about fraudulent inducement, breach of contract, unjust enrichment and violations of New York State's Civil Rights Law.

Cameo reportedly has different rates for videos meant for personal and commercial use, with a business video having a higher price tag.

Kimmel's producer had no comment when asked about the letter, according to The Post.

Kimmel had initiated the conflict by anonymously submitting Cameo requests to Santos and then showcasing some of the videos on his show under the segment titled "Will Santos Say It?"

"I sent him a bunch of crazy video requests because I wanted to see what he would read and what he wouldn't read," Kimmel said. "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."

The comedian claimed that Santos had increased the rates for his videos to $500 each since airing the ones he ordered from the disgraced politician and joked about the potential of being sued for fraud.

"Can you imagine if I get sued by George Santos for fraud?" Kimmel said. "I mean, how good would that be? It would be like a dream come true."

The TV host claimed he plans to release more videos from the "big stockpile" of Cameo messages he ordered from Santos via an anonymous account.

Santos, who was expelled from the House of Representatives earlier in the month, is facing 23 charges, including wire fraud, identity theft, money laundering and lying to Congress.

He has denied criminal wrongdoing, and his trial is set for Sept. 9, 2024.

While the legal battle unfolds, Santos has sat down for a "bombshell" interview with comedian Ziwe Fumudoh that is scheduled to air on her YouTube channel Monday at 11 a.m. EST.

Fumudoh shared a teaser for the interview between "one jokester and a national joke" on X, formerly Twitter.

The clip teased an exchange where Santos pleads with Fumudoh to be mindful of Department of Justice matters, and the host poses provocative questions, including, "Are rich people stupid?" and "What could we do to get you to go away?" 

Tags: George Santos Jimmy Kimmel