Joke’s on Jimmy! A batty Brooklyn “rabbi” is suing Jimmy Kimmel Live host Jimmy Kimmel amid allegations that the popular comic used a YouTube video of the man on his ABC show without permission.
In August, Jimmy Kimmel Live grabbed snippets of one of rabbi Dovid Sondik’s videos to pretend its host was getting advice from the man. The bit spoofed Lebron James’ recent sit-down with rabbi-to-the-stars Yishayahu Yosef Pinto.
In a copyright infringement suit filed in Brooklyn Supreme Court on Monday, Sondik alleges the clip, entitled Flying Rabbi, which shows him ranting in Yiddish, was broadcast on ABC late night without his consent. Sondik accuses Kimmel producers of appropriation of likeness and violating YouTube’s service terms and claims the clip has ruined his reputation.
“It has caused me difficulty and pain. Now they think I’m a joke, a comedian,” Sondik lamented in a chat with The New York Post on Tuesday.
Dovid neglects to mention that there are dozens of videos online of Sondik holding court on the streets of Brooklyn, where he’s known as the “Flying Rabbi,” even though he’s not technically a rabbi.
Sondik — is seeking unspecified damages. The offending clip has since been removed from YouTube.
Jimmy Kimmel Live, now in its seventh season, has been renewed by ABC for an additional two years on television.
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