Clint Eastwood doesn’t want to get high with you.
Or better put, the 90-year-old actor-director recently filed a pair of lawsuits in L.A. County Court against a handful of CBD companies and their subsidiaries who had used his very famous name and likeness to trick Boomers into buying CBD edibles and oils. Jordan Susman, Eastwood’s attorney, was quoted in the L.A. Times as saying, “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.”
In the first lawsuit, Eastwood sued Norok Innovation (a Florida-based company); CBD Green Labs (a California nonprofit); and Natural Stress Solutions (a Michigan based-company) for using his likeness and name in online ads. The lawsuit states, “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 products, when no such association actually exists.”
In the second lawsuit, Eastwood and his company Garrapata LLC sued a handful of CBD distributors — Sera Labs Inc. (a Delaware-incorporated company); Greendios (a California company); and For Our Vets LLC (an Arizona-based company), which was doing business as Patriot Supreme.
They’re accused of spreading a wholly fabricated news article in order to con customers into buying Eastwood-branded CBD products.
The literal “fake news” story was engineered to appear as if it had been published the same day that a reader clicked on it. It purported that the gruff, laconic tough-guy actor had reportedly parted ways with Hollywood so that he could live his new truth as a Johnny Appleseed of CBD. The studios reportedly gave Eastwood an ultimatum — “acting or his wellness line” — and he, of course, chose his wellness line.
The bullshit article included numerous points that should have set off alarm bells for anyone other than the highly gullible. For instance, it opens with this gem: “In an emotional 1-on-1 interview, one of America’s most respected icons revealed that he wouldn’t be where he is without CBD. We all know and love Clint Eastwood as the charismatic actor and director who has never been shy about advocating for marijuana use.” (Right, because when I think of famous people who smoke pot, Clint Eastwood is right at the top of that list.)
There’s also this fictitious quote attributed to Eastwood, explaining why he’s made the difficult choice to focus on his wellness line, “[It] gives me a chance to do something bigger than movies, and I knew I would regret it for the rest of my life if I let that opportunity pass me by.”
The man is 90. How much time are we talking about?
Moreover, the article claimed that Eastwood not only walked away from the studios’ ultimatum, but he also was challenging Big Pharma. Or as it put things, “Big Pharma companies are furious with him after noticing a large decline in sales since [Eastwood’s CBD product] was launched on the market.”
It wasn’t just Eastwood’s star power that fueled this lie either. “Eastwood’s new line has been a huge hit amongst fellow celebs who got to try the initial launch,” the article added. Then, to really set the hook, it quoted false testimonials from Terry Bradshaw, Sam Elliott and Garth Brooks. Because when considering medical advice and changes in health-care options, who doesn’t think: What would Terry Bradshaw do? (WWTBD?)
The wildest part is that, apparently, the fake news article worked to drive traffic. Which only goes to show that while Boomers are always worried about us being online, it’s really their digital behavior that should terrify us — especially in an election year.
Zaron Burnett III
Zaron Burnett is an investigative journalist and longform features writer based in Los Angeles. He covers culture, politics, race, and other perplexing mysteries for MEL.
