After his ouster from Congress, former congressman George Santos has been trending in popularity not just for his financial woes, but for creating an account on the celebrity video platform Cameo.
Some call George Santos the “American Anna Delvey.” Others applaud him for fighting the bureaucratic “swamp” during his time in Congress. It does not matter what people think of him – they are still giving him attention for performing the bare minimum. Whether it be his former career as a Smule karaoke artist or his past life as a drag queen, we are feeding his tendencies to fabricate stories.
On Cameo, Santos is making more money than what he earned as a congressman. In fact, he is reportedly earning six figures. He is currently charging $400 per video. These personalized videos range from Santos singing a Taylor Swift song, to giving advice to students during Finals Week. We, as a society, are all either fawning over him or laughing at him – there is no between. Yet, we are also toeing a line between holding him accountable and using humor to cope with the grave situation he is a part of.
Santos, a former Republican representative from New York State, was expelled from Congress on December 1 after a bipartisan report from the Ethics Committee came out. That report stated that Santos misused his campaign funds for Botox and OnlyFans, among other things. In May, the Department of Justice charged Santos with Conspiracy, Wire Fraud, False Statements, Falsification of Records, Aggravated Identity Theft, and Credit Card Fraud. His trial is set for September 2024.
But Santos’ life story unraveled way before his expulsion or even before he was sworn into office. He has been accused of lying about having Jewish ancestry, a career at a top Wall Street Firm, among many accusations. He has vehemently denied any wrongdoing.
Nevertheless, these events have not stopped Santos’ flow. On the social media site X, formerly known as Twitter, Santos told his 100k followers of his plans to file official complaints against politicians vocal about his ouster with the Office of Congressional Ethics. This included: Representatives Nicole Malliotakis (Mallio-Stock-Tips as he affectionately calls her), Mike Lawler and Nick LaLota of New York State, along with Representative Robert Menendez of New Jersey. Since then, he has also included Rep. Brandon Williams of New York State in his revenge saga.
Along with the Cameo stint, we could also possibly see Santos in a new career: reality TV. He even agreed to film an interview with Ziwe, a comedian best known for her satirical commentary, although the interview is not set in stone. Instead of Santos being shamed for stealing donor identities to pool in more money, we are allowing him to embrace celebrity stardom.
Yet, perhaps people are giving money to Santos not to glamorize his actions, but to laugh because the world is upending due to new and old geopolitical conflicts. There is a shortage child and adolescent psychiatrists in Virginia, and the US Surgeon General Vivek Murphy issued an advisory earlier this year warning about the effects of social media on young people. Nevertheless, Nebraska state senator Megan Hunt was criticized for her choice to publish Santos’ video on her account, before emphasizing that Santos is not a great figure to look up to.
Morally right or morally wrong, it is important to recognize both aspects of the debate. Besides, if you can afford a $400 video to cheer you up, there should be a different discussion occurring other than paying for Santos’ legal defense fund.