Scandal in France over the harassment of a victim of a scam that used an artificial intelligence Brad Pitt

A French woman who believed she was in a long-term romantic relationship with Brad Pitt and who was defrauded of 830,000 euros to supposedly help the actor with medical treatment has faced such a wave of ridicule on the Internet that television has had to remove a program about her.

The interior designer, Anne, 53, has been the subject of attacks on social networks and even a satirical sketch on the most important morning radio program in France after granting an interview on Sunday about the case to the program ‘Deseven eight’ from the TF1 chain.

Speaking about what she had believed was an online relationship with Brad Pitt lasting more than a year, Anne said she had thought they were in love. When she was told that the actor needed financial help for cancer treatment because his accounts had been frozen during his divorce proceedings with Angelina Jolie, she transferred the money.

Only when the Hollywood star appeared in the media this summer with his partner, Inés de Ramón, did he realize he had fallen for an elaborate scam, Anne said.

“I wonder why they chose me to do such damage,” he told TF1. “I have never hurt anyone. These people deserve hell.”

The TV show went viral and led to a wave of internet jokes about gullibility, prompting the channel to pull the show from all its platforms on Tuesday.

TF1 stated at the time of broadcast that Anne had suffered mental health problems, had also suffered from severe depression, and had been hospitalized for treatment. TF1 presenter Harry Roselmack wrote on social media on Tuesday: “To protect the victims, we have decided to withdraw [el segmento] of our platforms.”

Among the social media accounts that have mocked Anne’s gullibility is the Toulouse Football Club, which wrote on X: “Brad told us he would be at the stadium on Wednesday,” for the team’s next match. The club later removed the message and published an apology.

Netflix France also published on social media the promotion of “four movies to watch with Brad Pitt (for real) for free.”

The scam dated back to February 2023, when Anne, who had been married to a wealthy businessman, joined Instagram to share photos from a ski holiday in the French Alps.

Upon her return, she was contacted on the social network by someone posing as Jane Pitt, the actor’s mother, who began chatting with her and told her that she would be a good match for her son. Then another account claiming to be the actor himself got in touch. Her mother had told her everything about her, the person said. “I would like to know more about you,” said a message addressed to Anne. “But I would like to know if you work in the media, since I protect my private life.”

Anne, who said she didn’t understand much about social media, spent a year and a half communicating with the person she thought was Pitt. That person used fake social media and WhatsApp accounts, as well as artificial intelligence imaging technology, to send him what appeared to be selfies and other messages, including poems and songs and an apparent copy of Pitt’s passport. She said that he was very interested in his work and that they communicated every day. “I was in love with the man I was chatting with,” she said. “He knew how to talk to a woman.”

Among the things that Ana discussed with the person who claimed to be Pitt was the payment of her large divorce. He then received AI-generated photos of the actor apparently in the hospital, with requests to pay for his kidney treatment. She transferred hundreds of thousands of euros for alleged medical expenses.

The creators of the TF1 show said Anne had filed a police report over the scam.

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