Brad Pitt’s representatives have responded to reports about a French woman allegedly being scammed out of more than $800,000 by a person pretending to be the Oscar winner online.
“It’s awful that scammers take advantage of fans’ strong connection with celebrities, but this is an important reminder to not respond to unsolicited online outreach, especially from actors who have no social media presence,” a spokesperson for the “Fight Club” star said Friday in a statement to The Times.
The woman, identified as an interior designer named Anne, told French media that scammers led her to believe that she was involved with the “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood” Oscar winner for a year and a half and persuaded her to loan him money to help pay for medical expenses, the BBC reported. Her interview aired in prime time on Sunday on French TV’s TF1, but the segment has since been removed from the news outlet’s website following an onslaught of ridicule.
“I just got played, I admit it, and that’s why I came forward, because I am not the only one,” she said on a popular French YouTube show, per the BBC.
Anne, who said she was new to social media, said she first downloaded Instagram in February 2023. The scammers immediately contacted her, first posing as Pitt’s mother, Jane Etta, then as the star a day later. She said she was told that Pitt had kidney cancer, was financially strapped because of his recent divorce agreement and needed help paying bills. The scammers also sent her multiple AI-generated images of Pitt appearing to be in a hospital bed, and she complied.
“At first I said to myself that it was fake, that it’s ridiculous,” she told TF1. “But I’m not used to social media and I didn’t really understand what was happening to me.”
They duped the woman, a cancer survivor, into sending the purported Pitt her life’s savings, including a divorce settlement from her marriage to a wealthy entrepreneur.
Anne said that nearly every time she cast doubt on Pitt’s authenticity, the scammers would send her something to dissipate her doubts, at one point AI-generating a fake news report about their relationship ahead of the actor going public with girlfriend Ines de Ramon in June 2024. Pitt and De Ramon’s relationship confirmation is ultimately what led Anne to end her romance with the person she believed to be Pitt. Shortly thereafter, scammers contacted her posing as “Special FBI Agent John Smith,” prompting her to contact the police. The BBC reported that an investigation is now underway.
Anne told TF1 that she has tried to take her own life three times since the scam came to light, the BBC reported, and is now living in a small room with a friend surrounded by what she has left stored in a few boxes.
Her viral story and the AI-generated images of Pitt have taken on a life of their own online, ultimately prompting TF1 to pull the segment.
“The story broadcast this Sunday has resulted in a wave of harassment against the witness,” the news magazine program, “Sept à Huit,” said Tuesday on X. “For the protection of victims, we have decided to withdraw it from our platforms.”
Meanwhile, this is the second time in recent months that Pitt’s team has made a statement relating to scams involving the actor’s celebrity.
Spanish authorities announced in September that five people were arrested during an investigation into a “criminal organization” that defrauded two women out of $350,000 after they posed online as the actor and promised women potential romantic relationships, People reported. His representatives released a similar statement at the time reminding fans “to not respond to unsolicited online outreach, especially from actors who have no social media presence.”
