Will the real Brad Pitt please stand up.
The 61-year-old has broken his silence following news that a French woman was fleeced of $850,000 by a scammer who used AI photos of him to dupe the 53-year-old into believing she was dating the two-time Oscar-winning actor.
With modern advances in artificial intelligence there are more and more people falling foul to wicked tricks by shameful individuals, they do so by using the technology to mimic a loved ones voice or photoshop a picture to ‘prove’ they are real.
Unfortunately for interior designer Anne, who only disclosed her first name, she fell for the latter after the con-artist managed to convince her that they were the Hollywood A-lister.
The hoax dates back to February 2023, when Anne posted pictures of her on a skiing vacation to Instagram – soon after she was alerted of a message from someone claiming to be Pitt’s mom, then the following day ‘Brad Pitt’ messaged him.
‘Flabbergasted’ that ‘Pitt’, who is one of just four celebrities to have been named People magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive twice, she conned herself into believing the interaction was real.
She told the French media channel TF1, that the person behind the account ‘knew how to talk to women’.
Despite dodging phone and video calls, AI-generated images and videos of the actor hoodwinked Anne into thinking it was really him.
So what has the real Brad Pitt said about it all then?
Well, a representative of the esteemed actor replied to the headlines. Speaking per the UK-based publication the Independent, they said: “It’s awful that scammers take advantage of the strong bond between fans and celebrities.
“This is an important reminder not to respond to unsolicited online messages, especially from actors who are not present on social networks.”
After the poems and declarations, the pair developed a relationship followed by a marriage proposal and the promise of lavish gifts from the likes of Chanel or Hermès.
It wasn’t until summer 2024 that the horrendous realization dawned on Anne that the person behind the account was not Pitt after she read about the actor’s new girlfriend, Ines de Ramon, in the press.
By this point, she had departed with almost one million euros to the scammer and reported the incident to police.
According to BFM TV, Anne is sadly now hospitalized with severe depression and it remains unclear if she has managed to recover some of the funds.
