A Vincent Gallo catfish—a random someone who is posing as the real Vincent Gallo on Facebook—is apparently so convincing that Gallo’s ex-girlfriend sent the poseur nudes before she figured out it was a fake account. As a result, Gallo is now suing Facebook for “false designation of origin under the Lanham Act, intentional infliction of emotional distress, unfair competition and unfair business practices.”
The Hollywood Reporter on the ex-girlfriend:
“The two had Facebook messenger conversations for a period of two months, where Doe 1 flirted, sent nude pictures from the waist down, and convinced her not only to send nude pictures back, but to travel from Europe to the United States to visit him,” states the complaint. “Once she solidified her plans to visit him, Doe 1 (the Fake Account proprietor) backed down and gave an excuse that he would be out of town during her planned visit. At this time, she sensed something was wrong and discovered, to her horror and embarrassment, that Doe 1 was in fact, not Mr. Gallo.”
Gallo also claims that the catfish Gallo friended many people with whom he’s friends in real life, and also used Gallo’s likeness to “repeatedly engage females to have conversations that are sexual in nature.”
The actor/director says that he attempted to have Facebook take the fake Gallo page down, as he’s exceedingly private, but that Facebook said they could not properly identify if the real Gallo was real, as opposed to the fake Gallo who was using the site. Confusing.
Gallo is also currently suing Hikari Takano, a Japanese journalist, for allegedly recording and distributing conversations between them without his knowledge.
Image via AP
GET JEZEBEL RIGHT IN YOUR INBOX
Still here. Still without airbrushing. Still with teeth.
