Brad Pitt (the real one) has issued a statement following news that a French woman was scammed out of $850,000 by someone pretending to be the actor.

The 53-year-old interior designer, Anne, was contacted by a scammer disguised as Pitt’s mother, Jane, who told the woman Pitt needed kidney treatment.

Beginning in February 2023, the scammer convinced the woman to send money to help cover Pitt’s medical bills.

To justify the actor’s cash shortage, the scammer said Pitt was unable to access his bank accounts due to his divorce from Angelina Jolie.

The scammer also sent semi-convincing personalized AI images of Pitt in a hospital via social media and messaging apps to the woman for more than a year. The ruse wasn’t discovered until Anne — who left her husband amid her online romance with “Pitt” — saw photos of Pitt and girlfriend Ines de Ramon online in the summer of 2024.

In response to the story — which went viral, with the woman becoming the target of cyberbullying following an interview with French media — Pitt’s spokesperson said in a statement, “It’s awful that scammers take advantage of the strong bond between fans and celebrities.”

The statement (via HuffPost) continued, “This is an important reminder not to respond to unsolicited online messages, especially from actors who are not present on social networks.” Pitt himself does not have an official account on any of the major social network apps.

“I ask myself why they chose me to do such harm like this?” Anne said of the scam in a French TV interview that has since been taken down due to cyberbullying. “I’ve never harmed anyone. These people deserve hell.”