A woman was conned into believing that she formed an online romance with Brad Pitt and was convinced to pay him nearly $1 million. In an interview on France’s TF1 network that aired in January 2025, the 53-year-old — who only went by the name Anne – described the year-long ordeal when she believed the Fight Club movie star had formed a connection with her. Now that Brad has reacted to the swindling story, fans want to know the answer to one question: How did the scam happen, and were the scam pictures of Brad made using AI?
Below, News47.us breaks down everything we know so far about the scam.
During a January 2025 TF1 interview on Sept à huit, Anne recalled the scam beginning in September 2023, according to Deadline. At the time, she received an Instagram DM from a person claiming to be Brad’s mother. The fraudster who pretended to be Brad’s mom connected Anne with whom she thought was Brad by using fake social media accounts.
A woman in France was scammed out of €830,000 after believing she was in a relationship with Brad Pitt.
These are the photos she received, allegedly from Brad Pitt, that convinced her. pic.twitter.com/DHZklWbUDj
— The Oscar Race (@TheOscarRace) January 13, 2025
“At first I said to myself that it was fake, that it’s ridiculous,” Anne explained to TF1, per BFM TV. “But I’m not used to social media, and I didn’t really understand what was happening to me.”
Anne reportedly spent more than a year chatting with the scammers. At one point during their correspondence, the fraudsters convinced her that Brad’s bank accounts had been frozen by his ex-wife, Angelina Jolie, and that the actor needed surgery to treat kidney cancer. Anne transferred $850,000 to the scammers. At the time, she was divorcing her husband.
Anne’s story quickly went viral around the world, and she later told Le Figaro her one regret: “[The] only thing we’re going to remember is that ‘Anne fell in love with a fake Brad Pitt,’” she pointed out. “Now, to begin with, I’ve never cheated on my husband in my life because I’m a caring woman, I’m not crazy or corny, as some people say or write on social networks. … I just wanted to help someone, and yes, I’ve been scammed. That’s why I came forward, because I’m not the only one in this situation.”