Actor and director Clint Eastwood points to two companies that have used his name to promote CBD products without his consent, making it clear that the 60-year-old Hollywood veteran has never been involved in the cannabis business.
In federal lawsuits filed Wednesday, among the first against ingestible health supplement companies for falsifying celebrity endorsements, Eastwood is seeking damages and a jury trial for its publicity right and trademark infringement, according to filing documents. to the Central District of California Court.
While not offering an opinion on the CBD itself, Eastwood’s attorneys seek millions of dollars in damages “enough to deter future illegal conduct by defendants.”
The Oscar-winning actor and director of movies like “Unforgiven” and “Million Dollar Baby” is the last in Hollywood to fight companies that use his images to create what look like real articles or ads involving stars just to channel consumers. products with which they have nothing to do.
“My client does not sit idly by as the defendants use his good name to trick clients into buying products he has no affiliation with,” said Jordan Susman, an attorney representing Eastwood at Nolan Heimann LLP. The lawsuits “should also serve as a reminder for customers to be cautious when they see celebrity endorsement too good to be true.” I hope these lawsuits will send a message to others about what will happen if they spread false and defamatory statements about Mr. Eastwood or use his name and likeness without permission. “
Last November, Oscar-winning actress Sandra Bullock and comedian Ellen DeGeneres filed similar lawsuits against different beauty companies for claiming that the stars used the products to keep them looking young.
“It is a real phenomenon that is widespread,” said attorney Douglas Mirell of Greenberg Glusker, who has represented celebrities in similar cases. “It is just a question of how much time and effort you want to spend trying to keep an eye on the market.”
90-year-old Eastwood, known for his roles in the legendary Hollywood westerns, rarely licenses third parties, reserving the exploitation of his personality rights for companies in which he is personally involved, his lawyers said in their presentations Wednesday.
In one case, Eastwood sued Norok Innovation Inc., based in Florida, CBD Green Labs of California, Mabsut Life, and Michigan-based nonprofit Natural Stress Solutions, for using their celebrity to drive traffic to sites. website without your consent.
“Defendants have figuratively posted a sign bearing Mr. Eastwood’s trademark in front of their online store to appeal to consumers and have led the consuming public to believe that Mr. Eastwood is associated with and / or endorsed CBD products of Defendants from the CBD online marketplace, when no such association really exists, “the lawsuit says.
Eastwood Tick LLC filed a similar lawsuit against another group of companies, including Delaware-based Sera Labs Inc., California-based Greendios, and Arizona’s For Our Vets LLC. They created a “fake, defamatory, and entirely fabricated” news article “to sell and promote CBD products,” according to the filing.
Representatives of the companies involved were not available for comment.
“Through this action, Mr. Eastwood seeks to hold accountable the individuals and entities that erroneously crafted this scheme, spread false and malicious statements of fact about him, and illegally benefited from his name and likeness,” the Eastwood case reads.
The lawsuit states that one of the defendants sent emails with a fabricated article from NBC’s “Today” with a photo of Eastwood titled “Breaking News: Clint Eastwood exposes Shocking Secret Today.”
The Better Business Bureau said in December that millions of consumers are being scammed with fake endorsements, and such scams have cost consumers more than $ 1.3 billion in the past decade.
