Brad Pitt fans are being warned about scammers after a French woman purportedly lost $850,000 — and her marriage — after falling prey to AI images and fake messages impersonating the actor.
"It’s awful that scammers take advantage of fans’ strong connection with celebrities," a spokesperson for the Moneyball star tells Entertainment Weekly, "but this is an important reminder to not respond to unsolicited online outreach, especially from actors who have no social media presence."
That statement echoes a similar comment EW received upon reports of another Pitt-related scam in September.
The victim of the most recent episode, a 53-year-old French interior designer named Anne, first detailed her experience in an interview with Seven to Eight on France's TF1 channel, France 24 reports. Anne said she was first contacted by a figure claiming to be Pitt's mother on Instagram. "She told me that her son needed someone like me," Anne said.
A few days later, an account claiming to be Pitt himself reached out. "At first I said to myself that it was fake, that it's ridiculous," Anne told TF1 (per France 24). "But I'm not used to social media, and I didn't really understand what was happening to me."
The scammers told Anne that Pitt needed funds to cover his kidney treatment, which he could not pay for himself due to his divorce proceedings freezing his bank accounts. To convince Anne that the real Pitt was behind the account, the scammers sent doctored and AI-generated images of the actor in a hospital bed to verify his identity.
Upon believing she and Pitt were in a romantic relationship, Anne ultimately sent the scammers $850,000, and also divorced her husband so she could pursue Pitt. "I was in love with the man I was chatting to,” she said on Seven to Eight, per The Guardian. “He knew how to speak to a woman."
Anne only realized her mistake when she saw news of Pitt's real-life romance with Ines de Ramon, and she ultimately filed a police report over the scam. "I ask myself why they chose me to do such harm like this?" she told Seven to Eight. "I've never harmed anyone. These people deserve hell.
After prompting a wave of memes and mockery, TF1 pulled the Seven to Eight episode from circulation to prevent further cyberbullying. The network reported that Anne had experienced mental health difficulties, including depression.
In September 2024, Spain's Interior Ministry announced that five online scammers had been arrested for defrauding two women out of $350,000 by impersonating Pitt. It is not immediately clear if the incidents in Spain and France are connected.
The Wolfs actor recently reached a settlement in his divorce from Angelina Jolie, which had been the subject of lengthy legal proceedings dating back to 2016, when the Maleficent star accused Pitt of abuse. The FBI investigated Jolie's claims regarding Pitt's abuse and ultimately dropped the case without pursuing any charges, per AP.
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"It’s awful that scammers take advantage of fans’ strong connection with celebrities," a spokesperson for the Moneyball star tells Entertainment Weekly, "but this is an important reminder to not respond to unsolicited online outreach, especially from actors who have no social media presence."
That statement echoes a similar comment EW received upon reports of another Pitt-related scam in September.
The victim of the most recent episode, a 53-year-old French interior designer named Anne, first detailed her experience in an interview with Seven to Eight on France's TF1 channel, France 24 reports. Anne said she was first contacted by a figure claiming to be Pitt's mother on Instagram. "She told me that her son needed someone like me," Anne said.
A few days later, an account claiming to be Pitt himself reached out. "At first I said to myself that it was fake, that it's ridiculous," Anne told TF1 (per France 24). "But I'm not used to social media, and I didn't really understand what was happening to me."
The scammers told Anne that Pitt needed funds to cover his kidney treatment, which he could not pay for himself due to his divorce proceedings freezing his bank accounts. To convince Anne that the real Pitt was behind the account, the scammers sent doctored and AI-generated images of the actor in a hospital bed to verify his identity.
Upon believing she and Pitt were in a romantic relationship, Anne ultimately sent the scammers $850,000, and also divorced her husband so she could pursue Pitt. "I was in love with the man I was chatting to,” she said on Seven to Eight, per The Guardian. “He knew how to speak to a woman."
Anne only realized her mistake when she saw news of Pitt's real-life romance with Ines de Ramon, and she ultimately filed a police report over the scam. "I ask myself why they chose me to do such harm like this?" she told Seven to Eight. "I've never harmed anyone. These people deserve hell.
After prompting a wave of memes and mockery, TF1 pulled the Seven to Eight episode from circulation to prevent further cyberbullying. The network reported that Anne had experienced mental health difficulties, including depression.
In September 2024, Spain's Interior Ministry announced that five online scammers had been arrested for defrauding two women out of $350,000 by impersonating Pitt. It is not immediately clear if the incidents in Spain and France are connected.
The Wolfs actor recently reached a settlement in his divorce from Angelina Jolie, which had been the subject of lengthy legal proceedings dating back to 2016, when the Maleficent star accused Pitt of abuse. The FBI investigated Jolie's claims regarding Pitt's abuse and ultimately dropped the case without pursuing any charges, per AP.
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