Clint Eastwood is not selling CBD products.
The Academy Award-winning actor, producer and director, 90, filed two lawsuits Wednesday in federal court in Los Angeles against three CBD manufacturers and marketers that had posted online articles falsely claiming that he endorsed CBD products and 10 online retailers who he alleged had manipulated search results to make it look like he had done so. He is seeking millions of dollars in damages and a court order that the companies be forced to give up their profits.
“Mr. Eastwood has no connection of any kind whatsoever to any CBD products and never gave such an interview,” the court documents say.
The first lawsuit, claiming defamation, targets three CBD companies — Sera Labs Inc., Greendios and For Our Vets LLC — that produced fake news stories claiming that Eastwood endorsed their products and that he was leaving filmmaking to focus on the CBD business. The second suit argues that 10 companies and individuals are using programming code to insert Eastwood’s name into online search results for CBD products, misleading consumers into thinking the filmmaker is manufacturing or endorsing them.
Eastwood’s lawyer, Jordan Susman, said that he believed that the first articles appeared last year and that they are still being posted.
According to the first suit, the three companies sent spam emails with the subject line “Clint Eastwood Exposes Shocking Secret Today.” The body of the messages contained a fake interview with an outlet meant to look like the “Today” show, the lawsuit said, and had Eastwood claiming to endorse CBD products. The story included a photo of Eastwood from an actual appearance on the “Today” show, as well as links to buy items from a line of supposed Clint Eastwood CBD products, the suit said.
The companies that sent the emails were not able to be reached for comment.
Celebrities like Tom Hanks, Oprah Winfrey and former President George W. Bush have also been the target of false product endorsement claims by ingestible health supplement companies in recent years. Hanks shared an image on Instagram earlier this year of an ad that claimed that he endorsed a CBD product made by CannaPro. The actor called it an “intentional hoax.”
“I’ve never said this and would never make such an endorsement,” Hanks wrote. “Come on, man!”
Eastwood’s lengthy Hollywood career ranges from starring in tough-guy roles (“Dirty Harry”) to directing dramas like the best picture winner “Million Dollar Baby” (2004). He last directed “Richard Jewell” (2019), which attracted a storm of media attention for showing the journalist Kathy Scruggs trading sex for a scoop.
Eastwood has no opinion on CBD products or the legitimate CBD industry, his representative, Michael Sitrick, said.
Source: Movies - nytimes.com
