Former Republican Lawmaker Turns to Cameo to Make Money
Since his expulsion from Congress earlier this month, former Republican lawmaker George Santos has found a new way to make money. Santos has turned to Cameo, an app where celebrities and public figures can charge for personalized video messages.
Santos, who describes himself as a "Former congressional 'Icon'!" on the app, is currently charging $400 per video. This is an increase from his initial price of $75 when he first joined the platform.
Cameo founder and CEO Steven Galanis revealed that Santos sold out his initial quantity of 150 videos right away. Despite facing nearly two dozen federal charges, including conspiracy, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and credit card fraud, Santos has managed to attract customers on the app.
A platform called Cameo, which has been around for six years, allows over 50,000 performers to set their own rates for personalized videos. These videos can be purchased by fans as gifts for any occasion. For instance, actor Jim Belushi charges $100 per video, while actor and SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher charges $999.
One performer on Cameo, Santos, has gradually increased his price and now charges $400 for a video that can be as short as one minute. According to Galanis, the CEO of Cameo, Santos has earned a six-figure income from the videos, surpassing the $174,000 salary he made as a member of Congress.
Galanis mentioned that Santos' success can be attributed to the recent media coverage, even if it has been mostly negative. Additionally, the quality of Santos' videos has also played a role in his popularity. Fans who have purchased videos from Santos have expressed their satisfaction and praised the quick turnaround and high quality.
Galanis believes that Santos' current fame in the news has contributed to his success on Cameo. He mentioned that performers who are in the public eye tend to perform well on the platform. Despite the negative attention, fans who have received videos from Santos have left positive comments on his profile, expressing their delight and praising the quality of the videos.
Sen. John Fetterman is among Santos' customers. Campaign officials for the Pennsylvania Democrat paid Santos to record a Cameo video trolling Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey. In the video, Santos tells "Bobby" to not get "bogged down by all the haters out there."
Fetterman has been calling on Menendez, whom the Justice Department has accused of conspiring to act as a foreign agent for Egypt, to resign. Menendez has refused to do so.
Unemployed actors turned to the platform for fast cash during the SAG-AFTRA strike. Signups on the app rose 137% in July, Galanis told CBS MoneyWatch at the time.
