A Nottingham gallery owner had high hopes for a prestigious exhibition featuring artwork by the renowned Hollywood actor Pierce Brosnan, who was also scheduled to make an appearance to meet his fans.
Unfortunately, the owner’s excitement quickly turned to despair when she discovered that the Pierce Brosnan she had been in talks with for months was not the real actor but a meticulously crafted ‘deepfake’ impersonation.
Simone Simms recently shared her heartbreaking story of being deceived by a sophisticated artificial intelligence (AI) scheme, resulting in the loss of her gallery in Long Eaton and damaging her professional reputation.
Ms Simms told The Mail on Sunday she was ‘villainised’ after selling £20,000 worth of tickets to art lovers with the promise of meeting 71-year-old Brosnan, only to discover she had been duped.
Scammers used AI to generate a convincing likeness of Mr Brosnan video-calling her from his £80million house in Hawaii.
Ms Simms recalled ‘how real’ he appeared on Zoom and how she ‘squealed with excitement that he was in my living room speaking to me’ before taking the bait and sending the scammers £3,000 for ‘shipping fees’ for the art.
Her nightmare began when she contacted what she believed to be Mr Brosnan’s legitimate Facebook page at the start of 2023 and asked if he would exhibit his paintings at her venue.
She then says she was contacted by what she thought was the star and around 200 messages were exchanged between them on the Telegram messaging app, including a number of voice notes discussing the exhibition.
The AI deepfake of 007 star Pierce Brosnan that duped art gallery owner Simone Simms
Mrs Simms (pictured, left) fell victim to a scam that resulted in her losing her £30,000 art gallery
More than 20,000 tickets were sold with the promise of meeting 71-year-old Brosnan, who scammers had deepfaked to appear like he was calling Mrs Simms from his £80million house in Hawaii
A Pierce Brosnan painting. Mrs Simms exchanged 200 messages via Telegram with who she thought was the Bond actor
In one audio message, listened to by The Mail on Sunday, a voice with Mr Brosnan’s distinctive Irish accent discusses the forthcoming exhibition.
‘Simone, it’s Pierce Brosnan here, how’s it going? Just wanted to apologise for not being able to set up a meeting,’ the voice says.
‘I’ve been swamped lately. Please let your team know that I truly appreciate the invitation to the art exhibition.
‘I have high expectations it will be a huge success.’
In a subsequent video call, Mr Brosnan’s image appeared on the screen but the sound was off. Messages from the person on the other side of the phone claimed there was a technological issue.
Two of Ms Simms’s friends were also in the video meeting, one of two Ms Simms believed she had had with Brosnan, and were both fooled, insisting she was not an ‘idiot’.
One of them, artist Neil Adcock, said: ‘It looked like his genuine face. He said his son had set it up for him. He said the sound problem was on our end. It carried on for a while.’
Pierce Brosnan at the Art Miami VIP opening in Miami Florida
After the fake event was booked, Mr Brosnan put out a statement damning the gallery, insisting he ‘would never charge for a meet and greet’
The real Pierce’s artwork. Mrs Simms advertised £500 ‘meet and greet’ tickets with the deepfake Mr Brosnan
Another painting the real Mr Brosnan. Mrs Simms says she wishes the actor would acknowledge her as a victim rather than a villain
Others have reported being contacted by a fake Facebook account, claiming to be Mr Brosnan. Pictured: One of the real Mr Brosnan’s paintings
Meanwhile, after Ms Simms booked and marketed her show, the real Mr Brosnan saw an advertisement for the exhibition featuring his art online and issued a statement damning the gallery, insisting he ‘would never charge for a meet and greet’.
His lawyers sent her an immediate cease-and-desist letter in November 2023, three days after she advertised the £500 VIP meet-and-greet tickets.
A ‘horrified’ Ms Simms realised her mistake and tearfully recalled: ‘It was the worst time of my life and it tarnished my reputation.
‘Pierce hurt me by issuing the statement. He should have done more research before he did because he would realise I was only a fan reaching out but he villainised me and that’s where it started to go wrong.
‘I wish he would acknowledge me as a victim and not as a villain. He needs to tell the public about what truly happened and set the tone.
‘I don’t hate him, because he is a victim too. People abused his picture. If I knew it wasn’t him, I would never have set up the exhibition or sold the tickets.’
A picture by Piers Brosnan depicting a green area on the coast
Ms Simms refunded the £20,000 in tickets but was forced to shut her gallery in August 2024 after the incident left her reputation in tatters. Pictured: A painting by Pierce Brosnan
One of the real Pierce Brosnan’s paintings depicting a woman lying down
As soon as she realised she had been duped, Ms Simms refunded the £20,000 in tickets but was forced to shut her gallery in August 2024 after the saga left her reputation in tatters, with many still believing she had attempted to scam them.
Others have reported being contacted by a fake Facebook account, claiming to be Mr Brosnan, asking which of his films is their favourite before asking for money.
It comes as last month The Mail revealed how a divorced woman was duped into handing over £700,000 to a scammer posing as Brad Pitt and asked for money to fund his urgent kidney cancer treatment.
Mr Brosnan has been approached for comment.
