Good Monday evening. This is Daniel Allott with The Hill's Top Opinions.
Is being a chump the same as being a victim?
That's the question law professor JONATHAN TURLEY poses in his most recent op-ed.
Patriots football fan Michael Livieratos is suing former New England Patriots Quarterback Tom Brady for his marketing of FTX and crypto currency.
"Livieratos is essentially arguing a quarterback sneak ruined him after he invested virtually his life's savings into FTX before its collapse," Turley writes.
Turley, the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University, continues, "Putting aside his decision to base financial decisions on commercials made by an athlete, Livieratos's lawsuit raises difficult questions over the liability of celebrities who become paid spokespersons for companies."
According to Turley, the difference between a chump and a victim lies in whether Brady (or any other celebrity endorser) knowingly said anything false. "Celebrities routinely pitch products, from hair gel to hamburgers. They read from scripts, and few would believe they are experts in the products they shill."
That said, some celebrities have settled analogous cases in the past, and Livieratos and others who have lost money investing in celebrity-endorsed schemes could still cash in.
The bigger issue here is the culture of celebrity that pervades modern life. Celebrities can make a fortune when consumers embrace this culture and spend money on a good or service simply because an athlete or movie star endorses it.
In the end, Turley reminds us, the age-old maxim still applies: buyer beware.
Read Turley's op-ed here.
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