Brad Pitt reacted to the case of the woman who thought she was talking to him and was scammed out of more than 800 thousand euros

“It’s horrible that scammers take advantage of the strong bond that exists between fans and celebrities,” the spokesperson said in a statement obtained by E News. “But this is an important reminder not to respond to unsolicited messages onlineespecially from actors who do not have a presence on social networks.”

The viral story first emerged last Sunday on the current affairs program Sept à huit on the French network TF1.

The story of the woman who thought she was talking to Brad Pitt and lost more than 800 thousand euros

The 53-year-old woman, named Anne, told Sept à huit that the elaborate scam began in September 2023 when she received a message on Instagram from someone claiming to be Pitt’s mother.

Anne told the show that Pitt’s mother quickly played matchmaker and connected her with the actor. The scammers used fake social media accounts and AI-generated selfies to appear as Pitt in correspondence with Anne.

Anne spent more than a year communicating with the scammers, according to a France 24 report. Eventually, the scammers, still posing as Pitt, They told Anne that the actor needed urgent surgery to treat kidney cancer. He was told that Pitt’s bank accounts had been frozen by his ex-wife Angelina Jolie. She transferred more than 800 thousand euros to an account managed by the scammers.

Anne realized it was a scam after reading tabloid articles about Pitt and his partner Ines de Ramon. He reported the incident to French police, who launched an investigation last summer.

After Anne’s Sept à huit episode aired, it quickly went viral. The channel later removed the episode from its website, citing online harassment directed at Anne. French broadcaster BFMTV reported that Anne had been hospitalized for severe depression after the ordeal.