Sandra Bullock And Ellen DeGeneres Team Up Against Fake Endorsement Ads

Those involved with using the names of celebrities for fake endorsements are about to be put in their place by two powerful women in Hollywood. Actress Sandra Bullock and TV host Ellen DeGeneres have filed a joint lawsuit to go up against the ever-growing celebrity endorsement theft industry.

USA Today reported that the women filed the lawsuit together at the LA Superior Court in order to "expose the Celebrity Endorsement Theft Industry, which … exploits the names, images, likenesses and personas of well-known celebrities who have not authorized or been compensated for such use." The lawsuit claims that both Bullock and DeGeneres have been victims of online scammers using their likeness to sell their beauty products to consumers.

The lawsuit added that these celebrities “are targeted because of their age, their unimpeachable reputation for honesty and having worked hard at maintaining a healthy and youthful look, which con artists believe will attract and dupe unwitting customers into getting bilked by giving up their credit card information.”

These scams would deceive customers by signing them up for a “trial offer” for the fake celebrity-endorsed products only to charge them for automatic recurring payments. Bullock and DeGeneres have spent the last two years battling these online companies for fabricating endorsements with their names for profit.

One endorsement that DeGeneres is targeting is Alessa Serum which has reportedly used her name to promote their de-aging serum.

Attorneys Michael Kump and Michael Weinsten are working with Bullock and DeGeneres on this lawsuit. Speaking on the matter, they said, “The complaint exposes the scam and how it works so people can avoid getting trapped in it, and provides a way to identify those responsible and profiting from it so they can be stopped and held to account."

With every endorsement popping up left and right, the two celebrities are trying to expose the perpetrators responsible for these fake ads. The lawsuit is suing those involved with the scam for fake publicity, unfair competition, and for not having the stars’ permission to publicize the endorsements.