George Santos reveals his dream guest list for new podcast — and which guests committed ‘toxic’ act
George Santos might have been booted from Congress — but he’s not ready to keep quiet. His next pulpit: the new “Pants on Fire” podcast.
“The concept for the podcast is, ‘George Santos is versatile and can break out of politics,’” Santos told The Post. “I’ve been working really hard over the last year to transcend politics and be able to just be a cultural figure.”
The former representative from New York’s 3rd District, who was expelled from Congress in December 2023 and pleaded guilty to corruption charges in August, was approached by York and Wilder production company to do the podcast.
The title, a reference to Santos’ reputation for being loose with the truth, was their idea, though he readily agreed to it: “I’m a good sport about most things, until you start slandering me.”
The first episode, featuring an interview with Cameo app CEO Steven Galanis, dropped on Sunday. Santos claims he has raked in $600,000 on Cameo by making custom videos for paying fans.
New podcast episodes drop every Sunday and concentrate on cultural, rather than political, issues with a different guest each week.
“This was a big opportunity to not be overtly political and have fun — but even with having fun, of course, politics is going to come up,” Santos said. “I mean, I’m George Santos. I’m a former member of Congress, probably one of the top 10 most recognizable political figures of this generation.”
Other upcoming guests include former “Grey’s Anatomy” star Isaiah Washington, who exited the series in 2007 after using a gay slur on set, and brothers Ola and Bola Osundairo — who pleaded guilty to helping “Empire” star Jussie Smollett stage a hate-crime hoax.
“They have a strong belief that [the staged hate crime] came from a much higher power based on their interactions with Jussie,” Santos said of the Osundairo siblings. “They believe that Jussie is just a pawn in the middle of all of this.”
The brothers claim that Smollet’s declaration that he “is not suicidal” during a 2022 courtroom tirade is proof of a larger conspiracy plot — but Santos isn’t totally buying it.
“I actually give them s—t because they were part of a moment in this country that divided us for weeks, in the most toxic form humanly possible,” he said. “This isn’t the George Santos Easy-Pass Softball Questions Interview Show.”
His dream guests include fraudster and scheming socialite Anna Delvey; supermodel Gisele Bündchen, because she is a fellow Brazilian; and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, one of the most left-leaning Democrats in office.
“I want to bridge the gap and the divide that we have in this country,” said Santos, who served in the House of Representatives as a Republican but is now an independent. He said he’d also be open to having Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) or Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) on. “I’m a non-confrontational pacifist 100% of the time.”
In fact, Santos, who says he gets fan mail “on a regular basis,” reports the vast majority of his support comes from young people on the left — and he’s hoping to reach them with his podcast.
“I am more appealing to Democrat youth than I am to conservative youth,” he said. “Why the left seems to be more inclined towards me, I don’t know, maybe the fact that I’m gay makes me more relatable … [and] despite being called a liar and everything, I brought much-needed authenticity and value-add to the mundane nature of Congress, right?
“I’m the first openly gay Republican but not alone. I wasn’t the only gay Republican in Congress, but I was definitely the only one that was out.”
He sees the podcast as a way to rehab his image after a historically chaotic 11 months in Congress that included included naming bills after Nicki Minaj, multiple revelations of a colorfully fabricated resume, alleged misspending of campaign funds and false statements to the FEC, a federal indictment and ascendancy to pop culture infamy. “I’m not an evil guy. I’m fun. I’m relatable … I just want people to be able to see that.”
He celebrated his podcast launch with a journalist-packed party on Monday at Au Bar 56 in Manhattan’s Columbus Circle neighborhood. Santos was rocking an Hermès bracelet and bedazzled loafers as he posed for photographs in front of a hot pink backdrop plastered with the “Pants on Fire” logo.
“I’m authentic. I’m funny. I’m larger than life,” he said. “Like, I’m definitely that guy that shows up and people say ‘The party just started’ or it ‘just walked in’ or whatever.”
A cloud hanging over the jubilation, however, was Santos’ February 7, 2025, sentencing date. His fraud and identity theft charges carry a minimum sentence of two years and a maximum of 22 years — which could complicate a weekly podcast schedule. (According to US News & World Report, Santos has agreed not to appeal any sentence of around eight years or less.)
“Everybody went into this endeavor with me knowing that this was very much a part of a big gauntlet that can drop at any time on my head,” he said of his looming prison time. “We remain hopeful that we can continue with no interruptions with this project.”
Santos was not willing to share details, but said his “legal team is exploring and exercising everything and every avenue available” to keep the show going no matter the outcome in February.
Despite his looming court date, Santos says he’s open to opportunities beyond the podcast. After his ouster from Congress, many speculated that he would be an ideal reality television star. Now he’s entertaining the idea.
“At that point in time, when those conversations would come up, I was not amenable to them,” Santos said.
“Now, if those opportunities were to arise, I would do them because I think every opportunity I have to show the American people that I’m not the scumbag that the media charged me to be is a benefit for me — and also a benefit for Americans.”
