Jimmy Kimmel wins appeal over use of 'Flying Rabbi' YouTube video in comedy bit
Image of Jimmy Kimmel from betto rodrigues / Shutterstock.com.
A New York appeals court has sided with Jimmy Kimmel in a suit contending the comedian’s use of a YouTube video invaded a New York man’s privacy.
New York’s Appellate Division, Second Department, upheld a finding that Kimmel’s use of the video was not used for advertising or trade purposes, so it wasn’t covered by the state’s law authorizing damages for invasion of privacy. The New York Law Journal (sub. req.) and the New York Daily News covered the Sept. 16 decision.
The plaintiff, a street preacher, was known to his YouTube fans as the “Flying Rabbi.” Kimmel combined YouTube clips of the man, whose real name is Daniel Edward Sondik, with footage of Kimmel appearing to get advice from Sondik.
The comedy bit was a takeoff on the news that basketball star LeBron James was seeking advice from a high-profile rabbi. Kimmel maintained that he also received advice from the rabbi, but used clips of Sondik, who is not actually a rabbi.
The New York appeals court said New York law governed the dispute, and the privacy law didn’t apply under its wording and a public interest exception for newsworthy events. The court cited a 2006 case involving former Tonight Show host Jay Leno, over use of a photo in a “Headlines” segment of his show. The court in the Leno case tossed the suit against NBC because of the “comedic component of the newsworthiness exception.”
Sondik’s lawyer, Robert Tolchin, said his client was considering whether to appeal. “What happened here on a human level was not a fair thing—you take a guy who’s a little eccentric and make a joke out of him,” Tolchin told the New York Daily News. “This was deeply hurtful to him.”