A French interior designer, identified only as Anne, has found herself at the centre of public ridicule after revealing that she was scammed out of €830,000 by fraudsters posing as Hollywood actor Brad Pitt.
The story, which aired on French broadcaster TF1, drew national attention and sparked a wave of online mockery that led the station to pull the segment after concerns over harassment.
The 53-year-old woman shared her experience in the primetime programmme on Sunday, detailing how she believed she was in a relationship with the actor for over a year and a half.
The scammers reportedly used AI-generated photos and videos to convince her of their authenticity.
Anne said her ordeal started in February 2023, after she downloaded Instagram for the first time. She was soon contacted by someone claiming to be Brad Pitt’s mother, Jane Etta, who told her that the actor needed a woman just like her in his life.
A day later, Anne received a message from someone claiming to be Brad Pitt himself.
Although she initially found it suspicious, she admitted that her lack of familiarity with social media left her vulnerable.
At first, the scammers told Anne that Pitt wanted to send her luxury gifts, but claimed he couldn’t pay customs fees because his bank accounts were frozen due to his divorce from actress Angelina Jolie. Anne transferred €9,000 to cover the fees.
The scammers intensified their demands, claiming Pitt needed money for kidney cancer treatment. They sent Anne AI-generated images of Pitt in a hospital bed to back up their claims.
“I looked those photos up on the internet but couldn’t find them, so I thought he had taken those selfies just for me,” Anne said.
Eventually, Anne’s marriage ended in divorce, and she was awarded €775,000 in settlement money — all of which she sent to the scammers.
“I told myself I was maybe saving a man’s life,” she explained, adding that her own experience as a cancer survivor made her more empathetic.
As her suspicions grew, Anne saw images of the real Brad Pitt with his new girlfriend, Ines de Ramon, in gossip magazines. The scammers countered her doubts by sending her a fake video news report, in which an AI-generated anchor spoke of Pitt’s “exclusive relationship with one special individual… who goes by the name of Anne.”
Anne eventually cut ties with the scammers when Pitt’s real-life relationship with Ines de Ramon became official in June 2024.
The scammers made one final attempt to extort her, posing as Special FBI Agent John Smith” but by then Anne contacted the French police. An investigation is currently underway.
The scam left Anne broke, forcing her to live in a friend’s small room, with her belongings packed into boxes.!She revealed that she had attempted to take her own life three times since discovering the fraud.
“Why was I chosen to be hurt this way?”she tearfully asked. “These people deserve hell. We need to find those scammers, I beg you – please help me find them.”
However, Anne’s public disclosure resulted in harsh ridicule online.
In a now-deleted post, **Toulouse FC** joked: “Hi Anne, Brad told us he would be at the stadium on Wednesday… and you?” The football club later apologised for the insensitive remark.
Netflix France also made a post advertising “four films with Brad Pitt (for real)” on X (formerly Twitter), contributing to the online mockery.
Following the backlash, TF1 withdrew the segment on Anne, citing the “wave of harassment” she faced after the broadcast. However, the programme remains available online.
In a separate YouTube interview, Anne hit back at TF1, accusing the broadcaster of leaving out key details that would have shown she was not entirely naive.
“I had my doubts,” Anne said. “But anyone can fall for a scam when they hear words they’ve never heard from their own husband.”
While many social media users mocked Anne for being gullible others expressed sympathy noting that the scammers used sophisticated deepfake and AI technology that would be difficult for older people to spot.
One post read: “I understand the comic effect, but we’re talking about a woman in her 50s who got conned by deepfakes and AI. Your parents and grandparents would be incapable of spotting this too.”
An op-ed in Libération described Anne as a whistleblower warning that cyber scams involving AI will only increase as the technology becomes more advanced.
“Life today is paved with cyber traps… and AI progress will only worsen this scenario,” the article stated.
