This article was originally published in English
“It is appalling that scammers are taking advantage of the strong bond that exists between fans and celebrities,” said the statement from the American actor’s representatives.
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Brad Pitt spoke out aftera French woman was defrauded of €830,000 by fraudsters posing as the Hollywood star.
The victim revealed during the show Sept à Huit on TF1 that she had spent the majority of his savings for what she believed to be payment of “cancer treatment” of the actor.
This 53-year-old interior designer was duped by a scammer who sent her messages and fake AI-generated photos of Brad Pitt.
After starting a “relationship” with her and inviting her to marry him, the scammer sent her fake photos showing Brad Pitt in the hospital, claiming the actor had kidney cancer and needed money for treatment, under the pretext that Brad Pitt’s ex-wife, Angelina Jolie, had frozen his bank accounts.
Despite his doubts, Anne was reassured by the star’s ‘doctor’, who sent her an email explaining that Brad Pitt was struggling to survive. It was then that Anne transferred around €800,000 to an account in Türkiye.
“It cost me dearly, but I thought I could save a man’s life”explains the victim of the scam.
It wasn’t until the summer of 2024 that Anne realized the fraud, after seeing photos online of the movie star with his new girlfriend, Ines de Ramon.
“I wonder why they chose me to do such evil”she declared to TF1. “I have never hurt anyone. These people deserve hell”.
A wave of cyberharassment
Brad Pitt’s reps responded to the situation afterAnne was the victim of cyberharassment in France.
“It’s awful that scammers are taking advantage of fans’ strong connection to celebrities”said a spokesperson for the actor. “This is an important reminder not to respond to unsolicited online messages, especially from those who do not have a social media presence.”.
The response from Brad Pitt’s team is the same as that made at the end of September 2024, whena similar scam affected two Spanish women fans of the actor. Five people were then arrested for this fraud which amounted to €340,000.
Police are currently investigating the new scam, which left Anne hospitalized for depression. She took to social media to criticize the editing of the TF1 show, claiming that it did not show “only bad for the audience”.
It is not yet known whether Anne managed to recover part of the funds. In the meantime, TF1 removed episode Sept à Huit from circulation in order to avoid any further cyberharassment.
Additional sources • TF1, Entertainment Weekly
