Disgraced former congressmanGeorge Santos has found a major new income stream – on celebrity video message site Cameo – where he is already selling clips for $400.
Mr Santos launched his account on the site just four days ago, beginning with the price point of $75. The value of his videos has since more than quadrupled.
His short bio on the site describes him as a “Former congressional ‘Icon’!” and “The Expelled member of Congress from New York City.”
Though the Cameo website does not state how many videos Mr Santos has made or how much he’s earned, some have suggested he has already surpassed his annual congressional salary of $174,000.
According to Semafor, Mr Santos made more than that in the first 48 hours on the platform. His videos were raised to between $200 and $300, though by Wednesday they were priced at $400.
The disgraced former congressman launched his account on the Cameo celebrity video message site just four days ago— (John Fetterman)
On Tuesday the former congressman, who is currently facing a 23-count federal indictment for fraud and other related offences, told the outlet he has made 150 videos so far, adding that he planned to “crush another 60-70” that evening.
Mr Santos reportedly said he would be donating some of the money to unspecified good causes, and that the cash was only part of the appeal.
“Obviously there’s a monetary benefit — I’m not here doing it for charity — but the other aspect is to remind these a**holes who think they’re holier-than-thou that they will be forgotten in history and I will live forever, period,” he told Semafor.
Cameo’s founder and CEO, Steven Galanis, told the outlet that Mr Santos “is going to be an absolute whale,” and that his launch was among one of the most successful ever.
“Sarah Jessica Parker, Bon Jovi — he’s putting numbers up like that,” Mr Galanis said.
Videos on Cameo can take less than a minute to film, with creators able to send different messages, including pep talks, “roasts”, holiday or birthday messages, and advice.
Mr Santos has already been deployed by Democratic Senator John Fetterman’s office to tell indicted Senator Robert Menendez to “stay strong”, among other more cheery messages from members of the public.
He currently has 26 reviews on his page, which have praised his videos as “fantastic” and “gold”.
Mr Santos was expelled from the House on Friday after more than a hundred Republicans joined almost all Democrats in voting to remove him from the chamber. He became the sixth person in US history to be expelled from the congressional chamber.
