Clint Eastwood and Garrapata, the company that owns the rights to his likeness, won a lawsuit they had filed against a Lithuanian company that they accused of using Eastwood’s likeness to sell cannabidiol.
Eastwood sued the company for allegedly creating a fake news article saying that he endorsed the products during his appearance on the Today Show. It included photos of Eastwood on the Today Show alongside links to buy the products.
“Mr. Eastwood has no connection of any kind whatsoever to any CBD products and never gave such an interview,” the court documents said.
Eastwood was awarded a little over $6 million for the unlicensed use of his image after Mediatonas UAB didn’t respond to a summons from March. The company will also need to pay $95,000 in attorney’s fees.
“I am pleased with the Court’s ruling, and believe this judgment sends a powerful message to other online scammers who might try to illegally use someone’s name and reputation to sell their products,” Eastwood said in a statement.
The lawsuit was originally filed in July of 2020 in California.
“My client is not one to sit idly by as the defendants use his good name to dupe customers into purchasing products with which he has no affiliation,” Eastwoods’s attorney Jordan Susman said at the time.
He added that the lawsuits “should also serve as a reminder to customers to be cautious when they see a too-good-to-be-true celebrity endorsement. I expect 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.”
