By Jonathan Stempel
NEW YORK (Reuters) -Jimmy Kimmel defeated an appeal by former New York Congressman George Santos accusing the late-night host of tricking him into making personalized videos on the Cameo app and using them to poke fun at the now-imprisoned Republican.
In a 3-0 decision on Monday, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan said Kimmel made “fair use” of the videos on his ABC show “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” to comment on Santos’ alleged willingness to “say absurd things” for money.
“The complaint paints a portrait of defendants motivated by (sarcastic) criticism and commentary,” not a desire to usurp Santos’ financial interest in the videos, Circuit Judge Raymond Lohier wrote.
Santos’ lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A lawyer for Kimmel,