Fact Check: Kevin Costner Became Engaged in 'Major Lawsuits' Following 'Risky Business Practices'?

Claim:

Kevin Costner became engaged in major lawsuits following risky business practices involving CBD gummies or other medicinal products.

Rating:

False ( About this rating? )

Context:

Paid advertisements appearing on Facebook falsely claimed Costner had died. The clickbait ads linked to a scam website that presented users with a fake news article. Scammers designed the story to resemble the layout of articles hosted on the Fox News website. The story described Costner's supposed entanglement in "major lawsuits" stemming from his involvement with CBD gummies. However, Costner never created or endorsed any CBD products. Scammers simply promoted his image and likeness without permission, as they have in the past for many other celebrities.

An online rumor suggests Oscar-winning director and actor Kevin Costner is involved in "major lawsuits" due to "risky business practices." According to an article circulating in the summer of 2024, the lawsuits pertained to Costner's purported endorsement of CBD gummies.

However, a massive and long-running online scam entirely fueled this rumor. To be clear, Costner never created or endorsed CBD gummies or any medicinal products boasting "miracle" healing properties. Scammers promoted Costner's image and likeness without permission in a fraudulent attempt to sell the gummy products.

Scam Began with Costner Death Hoax

The first of three steps in the Costner-CBD scam involved a clickbait Facebook advertisement claiming Costner had died. In other words, Meta accepted money from scammers to allow the promotion of the scam, just as it has been doing for years.

The Facebook ad read, "A sad end for Kevin Costner today. Prayers!"

Snopes reviewed ads displaying external links for the scam websites manatea.buzz and seamoss.buzz.

Fake Fox News Article

The website resulting from the ad displayed a fictional article designed to fool users into believing they were at FoxNews.com. The page showed the Fox News logo, the Fox News website's font and colors, and a byline for Fox News chief political analyst Brit Hume.

The headline of the fake article read, "Kevin Costner's Risky Business Practices Led to Major Lawsuits: His Response on Air." The story featured numerous errors in grammar and punctuation. It read, in part:

(Fox) - In an Exclusive Interview,the famous American actor, film producer, director and singer Kevin Costner, announced in response to recent controversy surrounding his risky business practices

Last week, during a heated episode, popular American actors, Kevin Costner, made headlines by unveiling his new CBD line live on 'The Five.' Bayer and many other drugmakers were outraged by this and said he planned to sue Kevin Costner and Fox, accusing them of using their undisclosed technology and driving away sponsors.

…

His product, Golden Farms CBD Gummies, is one quarter of the price and 74% more effective than those being offered by Pfizer and other pharmaceutical conglomerates. And after seeing a massive decline in their sales, Pfizer started calling for Kevin Costner's company to halt operations, saying:

"We're happy Kevin Costner found something to replace opioids, pain killers, and save American lives but his company is engaging in unacceptable business practices. He must cease production immediately and stop offering Golden Farms CBD Gummies to the public."

Upon hearing this, Kevin Costner released his final video on Family Talk the next day, not to apologize, but to offer viewers exclusive free bottles.

One of the previous iteration of CBD scams falsely claimed Christian author James Dobson endorsed CBD gummies. That prior scam appeared to explain why the Costner article mistakenly included a mention of Dobson's "Family Talk."

The latter part of the fake Fox News article for Costner called the CBD gummies product a "miracle" and also falsely claimed, "Apparently, Kevin Costner has invented a new formula for Golden Farms CBD Gummies that can instantly and permanently reverse dementia."

However, as the British Alzheimer's Society published, "There are no research studies that prove cannabis, or products such as cannabis oil (CBD oil), can stop, slow, reverse or prevent the diseases that cause dementia."

CBD Gummies and Surprise Subscriptions

The third and final step of gummy scams usually involve a product-purchase website. Scammers design these websites to rush users through the process of providing a credit card number.

These scams surprise users purchasing CBD and keto gummies with larger charges than expected. Further, product-purchase websites for gummies make it difficult to recognize the fact users are purchasing a subscription package that will charge their credit card on a monthly basis.

We recommend paying a visit to a medical professional rather than buying supplements resulting from scammy online ads. Further, if CBD or keto gummies scammers scammed any readers, we recommend contacting the credit card company for the card used in the purchase to both inquire about a refund and to block future charges from the seller.

Sources:

"Cannabis, CBD Oil and Dementia." British Alzheimer's Society , https://www.alzheimers.org.uk/about-dementia/treatments/alternative-therapies/cannabis-cbd-oil-and-dementia .

"Kevin Costner Wins Best Directing: 1991 Oscars." YouTube , Oscars, 19 Mar. 2015, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnfk934kZCo .