Brad Pitt is urging fans to be aware of tricky “scammers” after someone swindled a French woman out of $850,000 by pretending they were the Oscar-winning actor in an ongoing catfish romance scheme.
“It’s awful that scammers take advantage of the strong bond between fans and celebrities,” Pitt said in a statement to media. “This is an important reminder not to respond to unsolicited online messages, especially from actors who are not present on social networks.”
Pitt’s response came after a 53-year-old interior designer named Anne admitted to falling in love online with a person she thought was Pitt, who ultimately tricked her into giving them hundreds of thousands of dollars by saying they needed the funds for a kidney treatment.
The relationship with the unknown person — who stated their bank accounts were frozen because of his divorce battle with ex-wife Angelina Jolie — lasted for over a year. Per France24, Anne didn’t realize she was being bamboozled until she learned that the real Brad Pitt was in a relationship with Inés de Ramon.
Anne, who reportedly struggles with mental health issues, shared her story with French TV program “Seven to Eight,” and was subsequently mocked online, which resulted in the show pulling the episode.
“The story broadcast this Sunday has resulted in a wave of harassment against the witness,” TF1 presenter Harry Roselmack wrote on his X account on Tuesday, per France24. “For the protection of victims, we have decided to withdraw it from our platforms.”
During her conversation with TFI, Anne questioned humanity’s compassion.
“I ask myself why they chose me to do such harm like this,” she said at the time. “I’ve never harmed anyone. These people deserve hell.”
This isn’t the first time Pitt has been impersonated. Back in September 2024, five people were arrested for scamming two women out of about $362,000 online. More people are under investigation beyond the five who were arrested.
Variety first reported the news.
