Brad Pitt Rep Warns Fans After Scammer Defrauds Woman Out Of $850K
The woman had received AI-modified images that showed Pitt hospitalized to support the lie that he was in dire need of expensive kidney treatment.
A representative for Brad Pitt is warning fans about a recent scam involving the actorâs likeness that cost a 53-year-old French woman everything.
The victim, identified only as Anne, said she was contacted on social media in 2023 with images that appeared to show Pitt hospitalized in grave condition. She eventually wired the scammer $850,000 under the false impression that she was paying for the actorâs kidney treatment.
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Pittâs camp addressed the matter Tuesday in a statement to Entertainment Weekly, days after actor Johnny Depp warned about scams targeting his fans last week.
âIt is awful that scammers take advantage of fansâ strong connection with celebrities,â a spokesperson for Pitt told ET, âbut this is an important reminder to not respond to unsolicited online outreach, especially from actors who have no social media presence.â
Anne explained on Sundayâs âSeven to Eightâ news broadcast on French channel TF1 that someone claiming to be Pittâs mother had contacted her on Instagram.
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âShe told me that her son needed someone like me,â she said Sunday, per France 24.
An account impersonating Pitt himself then contacted Anne, who reportedly spent the next year and a half believing sheâd struck up a romantic relationship with the actor and that his bank accounts were frozen amid his then-ongoing divorce with Angelina Jolie.
âAt first I said to myself that it was fake, that itâs ridiculous,â Anne told TF1, France 24 reported. âBut Iâm not used to social media, and I didnât really understand what was happening to me.â
Anne said she only realized that she'd been duped after Pitt's real relationship hit the news.
Vianney Le Caer/Invision/Associated Press
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Anne not only believed the images of Pitt were real and sent the scammer her fortune, but also divorced her husband â admitting on âSeven to Eightâ that she âwas in love with the manâ she was chatting with because he âknew how to speak to a woman.â
She said she only understood sheâd fallen for a scam after Pittâs actual romance with Ines de Ramon hit the news. Sheâs reportedly since filed a police report, although the swindler remains unidentified. The channel also reported that Anne had suffered severe depression.
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âI ask myself why they chose me to do such harm like this?â she told TF1. âIâve never harmed anyone. These people deserve hell.â
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Since her interview aired, Anne has been being widely mocked for her mistake. Netflix France jokingly promoted â4 films to see with Brad Pitt (promise)â and the Toulouse Football Club wrote, âBrad told us heâll be at the stadium Wednesdayâ â before apologetically deleting the post.
TF1 eventually pulled the âSeven to Eightâ episode from circulation after the cyberbullying came to light.
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