The 90-year-old Hollywood actor that is Clint Eastwood has initiated a lawsuit against CBD companies that claimed he had tried their products. CBD – or ‘cannabidiol’ in its unabbreviated form – is a non-psychoactive cannabinoid of the cannabis plant that has dominated the mainstream for its annual $9.3 billion revenue-gleaning charm; global-scale figures.

The CBD companies, which are said to have promoted his name without consent, were served with lawsuits on Wednesday, July 22. Eastwood, a veteran, says that he has never been involved in the cannabis industry. Filed in the Central District Court of California, the filings clearly state that the actor will employ a jury trial to solve the matters of trademark infringement and his right of publicity.

Interestingly, the federal lawsuits were among some of the first to be submitted against companies selling ingestible health supplements due to illegitimate celebrity endorsements.

Clint Eastwood’s CBD lawsuit demands millions of dollars in damages 

In regards to the latest lawsuits, millions of dollars in damages are being sought by Eastwood. This, his lawyers say, is “sufficient to deter unlawful conduct by defendants in the future.” Eastwood’s lawyers did not, however, provide their own opinion on CBD.

“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,” said an attorney representing Eastwood at Nolan Heimann LLP law firm named Jordan Susman. 

“[The filings] should also serve as a reminder to customers to be cautious when they see a too-good-to-be-true celebrity endorsement,” added Suman, who believes that Clint Eastwood’s CBD lawsuit will alert others about the risks they face if they  circulate “false and defamatory statements about Mr. Eastwood or use his name and likeness without permission.”

The award-winning actor and director of movies like “Million Dollar Baby” and “Play Misty for Me” is one of many stars who have taken a wellness or CBD company to court after discovering that promotional advertisements and/or articles featured their photos without permission.

Other celebrities have filed lawsuits against wellness companies for false endorsements

In November 2019, talk show host and comedian Ellen DeGeneres filed a lawsuit against a website owneer whose skincare ad claimed she recommended the company’s products. Her Oscar-winning actress friend Sandra Bullock also fought against a company that professed she was using their branded beauty products to maintain a youthful appearance. 

“People are being defrauded in this massive scam using Sandra’s and Ellen’s names and images,” said both Bullock’s attorney, Michael Kump, and DeGeneres’ attorney, Michael Weinsten, in a statement.

The lawyers managing Eastwood’s CBD lawsuit say that their client is careful about using his personality rights for business promotions; usually, the California native only grants third-party licenses for business gigs he is actively involved in. 

One of the first cases was filed against Norok Innovation Inc. in Florida, CBD Green Labs in California, Mabsut Life and Michigan-based Natural Stress Solutions for taking advantage of Eastwood’s celebrity status to stimulate targeted website traffic.

“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 Online marketplace Defendants’ CBD products, when no such association actually exists,” reads language contained in the lawsuit.

A second lawsuit was also filed against Arizona’s For Our Vets LLC, Delaware-headquartered Sera Labs Inc. and California’s Greendios by Garrapata LLC — Eastwood’s trademark-holding company. The CBD lawsuits filed against this separate group of businesses in the industry suggest that “a false, defamatory, and wholly fabricated ‘news article’ to sell and promote CBD products” was used to the seller’s advantage. 

Representatives for the companies discussed in this article did not respond when contacted for comment.