Clint Eastwood Sues CBD Brands for Using His Likeness to Promote Products

Clint Eastwood is suing 20 CBD companies claiming they used his name and likeness without his permission, along with made-up quotes from the actor, to promote their products, according to a Fox News report. His lawyers told the BBC that Eastwood “does not have and never has had” any partnership with any CBD company.

Sera Labs, one of the firms named in the suit, said in a statement that they “worked for a limited time with a publisher and gave them specific advertisements they could use which follow our very strict guidelines and shut down the ads immediately after learning that they used Eastwood’s name and likeness.” The firm said they are no longer working with the publisher in question.

The lawsuit takes aim at “fake news” articles about Eastwood and CBD. One titled “Big Pharma In Outrage Over Clint Eastwood’s CBD” claims that the actor is leaving the movie business to promote CBD products. Another “internet scam” uses the actor’s image and tagged their websites with his name to make it appear he backs the products.

“By using Mr. Eastwood’s name in hidden metatags, Defendants have figuratively posted a sign with Mr. Eastwood’s trademark in front of their online store to attract consumers and caused the consuming public to believe that Mr. Eastwood is associated with and/or endorsed the CBD Online marketplace Defendants’ CBD products, when no such association actually exists.” – Court documents via Variety

A representative told Variety that the actor “does not express a point of view about CBD products or the legal CBD industry” and that the lawsuit specifically targets “the illegal use of Mr. Eastwood’s name and likeness, and dissemination of false and defamatory statements about him, to sell someone else’s products.”

The defendants named in the suit include Sera, Greendios, For Our Vets LLC, Norok Innovation, Natural Stress Solutions, and Mabsut Life US Corp.