Tom Hanks is speaking out after an image of him was used to endorse a CBD company without his approval. The ad also includes Dr. Mehmet Oz, who also took to social media to warn fans that their image had been used illegally and without their consent. The ad claims to have a quote from the Cast Away actor saying, “The advances Doctor Oz has made in the CBD industry are remarkable. I wouldn’t believe it if I hadn’t had the chance to try it out for myself.” Hanks posted the quote to his Instagram account and made it clear that he did not endorse the product or the company, calling it an “intentional hoax.”
Dr. Oz also shared a tweet that backed up Hanks, saying that he “could not agree more” and that he has no involvement with any CBD company whatsoever.
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Even former TODAY anchor Katie Couric chimed in on the conversation after her name was falsely used, writing in Hank’s comment section, “Yes and I never endorsed any wrinkle cream although I could probably use some #ridiculous.”
Could not agree more with @tomhanks. This is a fake and misleading advertisement intended to take advantage of consumers using false claims and our likenesses illegally. I am not involved with any cannabis companies. https://t.co/EBNvnh0jdM
— Dr. Mehmet Oz (@DrOz) January 21, 2020
Unfortunately, when companies like this try and pull of a scam of this sort, they usually don’t have any contact information and if they’re caught by the authorities, they’ll simply switch names. Doing this will make it a challenge for the police to shut them down.
“There is a whole army of people who are difficult to find that are using changing sets of hyperlinks that may only last for a couple days but they’re all there to avoid detection,” Steve Baker, who is from the Better Business Bureau (BBB) told TODAY. “Even if a link no longer works that doesn’t mean that the same claims aren’t being made for the product somewhere else.”
If this is something you ever come across, the BBB suggests looking at the celebrity’s personal profile to ensure that the endorsement is real. If it is, the famous face will post about it to their social media profiles.
