Brad Pitt's representatives have responded to reports that a French woman was allegedly scammed out of more than $800,000 by a person posing online as the Oscar winner.
“It's terrible that scammers are exploiting fans' strong connection to celebrities, but this is an important reminder not to respond to unwanted online contact, particularly from actors who are not present on social media,” a spokesperson said the “Fight Club” star Friday in a statement to the Times.
The woman, who was an interior designer named Anne, told French media that scammers made her believe she was dating the Oscar winner from “Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood” for a year and a half, and She persuades her to loan him money to pay for medical expenses BBC reported. Her interview was broadcast in prime time on French television channel TF1 on Sunday, but the segment has since been removed from the news channel's website after a barrage of ridicule.
“I just admit it and that's why I came forward, because I'm not the only one,” she said on a popular French YouTube show, according to the BBC.
Anne, who said she was new to social media, said she first downloaded Instagram in February 2023. The scammers contacted her immediately, first posing as Pitt's mother Jane Etta, then a day later as the star. She said she was told Pitt had kidney cancer, was struggling financially due to his recent divorce settlement and needed help paying bills. The scammers also sent her several AI-generated images of Pitt seemingly lying in a hospital bed, and she complied with the request.
“At first I told myself that it was fake, that it was ridiculous,” she told TF1. “But I’m not used to social media and I didn’t really understand what was happening to me.”
They tricked the woman, a cancer survivor, into sending the alleged Pitt her savings, including a divorce settlement from her marriage to a wealthy entrepreneur.
Anne said that almost every time she expressed doubts about Pitt's authenticity, the scammers sent her something to dispel her doubts, generating a manufactured message about their relationship at some point before the actor's relationship with girlfriend Ines de Ramon in June the public left in 2024. The confirmation of the relationship between Pitt and De Ramon is ultimately the reason that Anne ends her romance with the person she believed to be Pitt. Soon after, scammers contacted her and posed as “FBI Special Agent John Smith,” prompting her to contact the police. The BBC reported that an investigation is currently underway.
Anne told TF1 that she had attempted suicide three times since the fraud came to light, the BBC reported, and was now living in a small room with a friend, surrounded by what she had stored in a few boxes .
Her viral story and AI-generated images of Pitt took on a life of their own online, ultimately leading TF1 to pull the segment.
“The story broadcast this Sunday has led to a wave of harassment against the witness,” said the news magazine’s “Sept à Huit” news program. said Tuesday on X. “To protect victims, we have decided to remove it from our platforms.”
This is now the second time in recent months that Pitt's team has issued a statement about scams related to the actor's fame.
Spanish authorities announced in September that five people had been arrested during an investigation into a “criminal organization” that defrauded two women of $350,000 after they posed as actors online and promised women potential romantic relationships. People reported. His representatives released a similar statement at the time, reminding fans “not to respond to unsolicited online contact, especially from actors who do not have a social media presence.”