An appeals court ruled this week that a woman who lost $310,000 in a scam perpetrated by someone impersonating country music superstar Kenny Chesney cannot sue the real Kenny Chesney to try to get some of the money back.
The woman was contacted on LinkedIn in 2021 by a fake Kenny Chesney seeking cash he needed “to appear at an awards show, to repair instruments and to pay for music videos.”
The plaintiff sued the actual Kenny Chesney for negligence, arguing that he should have taken proactive steps to warn fans about potential bad actors and scams.
The court disagreed. Of course.
I think getting scammed is awful, and even when the scam seems obvious and ridiculous, I try to extend grace to the victims. The world is complex and constantly changing, and we can’t expect anyone—ourselves included—to keep up with every technological advance, nefarious plot, and scammer strategy.
This particular scam sounds quite buffoonish on the victim’s part, but I don’t know the details. I don’t know where the victim was in terms of her capacity, mental state, support system, or understanding of social media.
I’m holding grace for her.
Reserving judgment, regardless of how foolish this situation may be.
I think we could all use more grace in this world.
However, the decision to sue Kenny Chesney for not alerting the world to the potential use of his name and persona in scams is something for which grace is impossible.
The victim in this case has gone from someone I tried to feel sympathy for to someone who is clearly a fool.
Wasting Kenny Chesney’s time and resources to defend himself in this ridiculous lawsuit shifts this person from a sympathetic victim to an infantile monster.
Some things are simply unforgivable:
Mayonnaise on a cheeseburger.
A meeting that could’ve been an email.
Mulligans on the golf course.
Leaving dishes in a sink.
Reclining your seat on an airplane.
And now this:
Suing a celebrity for not warning you that someone might impersonate them to steal your money.
Unforgivable.
