Clint Eastwood is seeking millions in a federal lawsuit. The iconic movie star and filmmaker with one of the longest-lasting high-profile careers in the movie industry is taking aim at CBD Companies. The actor-filmmaker is suing Sera Labs Inc., Greendios and For Our Vets LLC due to “an online scam that uses a false, defamatory, and wholly fabricated ‘news article’ about Mr. Eastwood to promote and sell cannabidiol (“CBD”) products.”
The Phony CBD Products
Eastwood is displeased by these companies claiming he has his own line of CBD products (via The New York Times). Although that’d be fantastic if true, it’s not. The lawsuit reads:
“The fraudulent ‘article’ contains links to purchase what it claims are Mr. Eastwood’s line of CBD products, thereby allowing the defendants to illegally profit from their misuse of Mr. Eastwood’s name, likeness, and false association with their products. In truth, Mr. Eastwood has no connection of any kind whatsoever to any CBD products and never gave such an interview.”
Eastwood is Not Retiring
Allegedly, one of the companies went as far as to run a fake interview with the cinema legend. The phony interview suggested he “‘would be stepping away from the spotlight to put more time into his wellness business” and “relations with some studios grew so tense that they ended up giving him an ultimatum – acting or his wellness line.” Now, those lines almost sound like parody. Parody or not, Eastwood’s attorney’s confirmed that’s not true and he’s not retiring, thankfully. He’s still got more movies in him.
Not Eastwood’s First Lawsuit
Eastwood is a man protective of his name and image, which throughout his career, people have probably tried to take advantage of. Hilariously, in the lawsuit, Eastwood’s attorneys compare him to some of his iconic tough guy roles, saying he confront wrongdoers:
“For more than 60 years, Clint Eastwood has been one of the most famous actors, producers, and directors in the world. Mr. Eastwood is fiercely protective of his name and image, and has rarely licensed either for the promotion of products outside of the movies he acted in or directed. Like many of his most famous characters, Mr. Eastwood is not afraid to confront wrongdoing and hold accountable those that try to illegally profit off his name. Indeed, Mr. Eastwood previously litigated and won a jury trial against the National Enquirer, which was affirmed on appeal, after the tabloid falsely claimed to have exclusively interviewed Mr. Eastwood and misappropriated his name, likeness, and personality to promote and sell its product.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.”
Other major celebrities have found themselves having to file similar lawsuits against companies exploiting their image. Eastwood’s attorney hopes this lawsuit will show the true repercussions. The director’s attorney added: “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.”
What’s Next for Eastwood?
Clint Eastwood is 90 years old, but he has no intention of quitting filmmaking. He’s said before he was done with acting, but then he returned to the screen and gave one of his better performances in The Mule, which is a rare 21st Century Eastwood movie that’s “fun.” It’s the kind of entertaining thriller we wish Eastwood would make instead of his terribly slow, dimly shot dramas with the subtlety of a sledgehammer.
To this day, Eastwood is a well-oiled machine as a director. He likes to keep a 9-5 schedule of sorts, only getting a few takes in the can and wasting little time. The filmmaker moves so fast we usually see a movie from him every year. In 2020, for obvious reasons, that’s not the case. Eastwood has no major film coming out this year, nor does he have any projects we know of lined up.
Eastwood’s last movie, Richard Jewell, is one of his few modern box-office failures. It was well-liked, but hardly a new Eastwood classic. The quality of Eastwood’s pictures are wildly inconsistent these days, but nonetheless, he’s Eastwood. We always look forward to what he directs next, flaws and all.
