Brad Pitt Annalisa Ranzoni/Getty Images
Brad Pitt’s rep is setting the record straight on the actors’ social media presence after Spanish police arrested five people allegedly impersonating Pitt online.
“It’s awful that scammers take advantage of fans’ strong connection with celebrities,” Pitt’s publicist Matthew Hiltzik told Us Weekly in a statement on Wednesday, September 25. “And this is an important reminder to not respond to unsolicited online outreach, especially from actors who have no social media presence.”
The Oscar winner, 60, does not have any official social media profiles on Instagram, X or any other platforms.
Spanish authorities confirmed on Monday, September 23, that they’ve arrested five individuals this year in connection to fraud and money laundering charges after they allegedly posed as Pitt. The suspects allegedly scammed two women out of more than $350,000.
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Three scammers were arrested in November 2023 and two more were taken into custody in July, according to Spain’s Interior Ministry, via a statement published by The New York Times.
“The statement said the accused had contacted the women through an online fan page dedicated to Mr. Pitt and posed as the Oscar-winning American actor,” the outlet reported. “The authorities said the accused had gone on to exchange instant messages and emails with their victims, who thought they were corresponding directly with Mr. Pitt.”
The imposters “managed to make these women believe they had become so close to the well-known American actor that they believed they had a romantic relationship with him,” according to the police statement.
Once the scammers got close to the women on social media they asked for money. One of the victims sent the Pitt imposter approximately $168,000, while the second woman gave the crooks $195,500. The authorities said only $94,000 has been recovered during the investigation, which is ongoing.
Pitt has previously made it clear in the past that he’s not a fan of social media.
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“Never gonna happen,” Pitt told E! News in July 2019 when asked if he’d join Instagram like pal Julia Roberts. While Pitt admitted that he should “never say never,” he explained, “I [do] pretty good without it. I don’t see the point.”
The Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood actor noted, “I do” like to “keep it quiet” and have privacy.
Prior to that, Pitt told GQ in November 2014 that although he does “see a benefit” in having social media, he’s too old to care about it. “You could, you know, combat the misconceptions or the misquotes immediately. And if I’d have had that in my younger days, I’d have used it,” he said of the tool, confessing, “At this point, I don’t want to bother with it.”
