New York Republican congressman George Santos claimed that he was one of the producers for the controversial Broadway musical Spider-Man: Turn off the Dark in the latest in a series of bizarre lies told by the politician, multiple sources reported on Friday.
Santos told potential donors of his supposed job as a producer on the musical, which is notable for its multiple injuries involving actors, poor reviews, technical mishaps and a financial failure in 2011. Santos made these claims during his campaign for Congress.
The musical, which ran from 2011 to 2014, is reportedly the most expensive show put on by Broadway, according to Bloomberg. The production reportedly cost $65 million. The show had four delays to its opening. The musical was directed by Julie Taymor with music and lyrics by U2's Bono and The Edge.
Santos's name wasn't even on the playbill
Michael Cohl, an actual producer of the musical, said that Santos was never involved in production, the report quoted him as saying. His name never even appeared in the playbill for the show, the report noted.
This claim made up by Santos joins the latest web of lies the Republican congressman has made, including his debunked family ties to Holocaust survivors and lies about having a Jewish background.
There are also reports of Santos performing as a drag queen in Brazil. The Bloomberg report stated that Santos was living in Brazil for a portion of the time the musical based on Marvel Comics was on Broadway.
Around the same time the musical was showing, the New York congressman made antisemitic and racist statements on Facebook against Jews and black people.
The FBI has also been investigating him where he may have stolen $3,000 raised for a homeless Navy veteran’s cancer-stricken dog.
Both Democrats and some Republicans have called for his resignation from Congress.
Haley Cohen and Reuters contributed to this report.