The rise of the web not only provided us all with a way to all become closer and more connected – but it also provided scammers with many more opportunities. Now, celebrities are fighting back against the unauthorized use of their image. Recently, actresses Sandra Bullock and Ellen DeGeneres teamed up to fight “celebrity endorsement theft.”
Clickbating Fans
From serums to creams, online users see tons of advertisements every single day. After all, many want to look just as good as their favorite celebrity, like Ellen Degeneres or Sandra Bullock. As a result, many scammers use celebrities’ images without permission and create fake endorsements. “[Celebrities] are targeted because of their age, their unimpeachable reputation for honesty, and having worked hard at maintaining a healthy and youthful look, which con artists believe will attract and dupe unwitting customers into getting bilked by giving up their credit card information,” says the lawsuit.
One of the biggest offenders is the anti-aging cream Alessa Serum. The company claims that not only does Degeneres use their product, but that she loves it! On their website, they state that the she looks younger thanks to the serum, and that it helps the TV host use less makeup. However, Degeneres claims in the lawsuit that she’s never even used the product! Like many of these scams, Alessa Serum offers a trail for the products, then locking a user into auto-payments on their bank card.
Teaming Up To Fight Celebrity Endorsement Theft
Now, both Bullock and DeGeneres are teaming up to fight celebrity endorsement theft. Just last month, both celebrities filed a joint lawsuit in LA Superior Court Wednesday. They are planning to “expose the Celebrity Endorsement Theft Industry, which exploits the names, images, likenesses, and personas of well-known celebrities who have not authorized or been compensated for such use.”
The lawsuit states that Bullock and DeGeneres are continually used as sources for targeted ads and click bait articles. These scams use their good looks and appearance to champion their products. However, in reality, it takes a lot of time and money to look as good as these celebrities do! Unfortunately, buyers usually don’t notice its a scam until well after they purchase the product.
Official Explanation
Michael Kump and Michael Weinsten, the attorneys for Bullock and DeGeneres, explained the difficult situation further.“Like Whack-A-Mole, for each fake site exposed, another one pops up. The complaint exposes the scam and how it works so people can avoid getting trapped in it. It provides a way to identify those and profiting from it so they can be stopped and held to account,” they said.
Unfortunately, Bullock and DeGeneres can’t find out who’s behind the annoying ads as it’s hard to pin down. So, they filed a lawsuit against “unnamed Defendants 1 through 100.” The suit will bring charges of false advertising, unfair competition, and violation of stars’ right to privacy against anyone culpable. As more investigations turn more names up, the lawyers will add them to the lawsuit.
Every day, people come across bullying and scams, where people don’t pay for their mistakes. We can only wish the superstars some luck as the internet is such a vast and complicated place.