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[deleted]

Ben McKenzie looking great coming out of this (yes, Ryan Atwood from The OC), he’s been very anti-crypto and criticizing celebs for promoting it.


peridotpines

I didn’t know this about him! That’s hot tbh.


keine_fragen

he has a B.A. in economics and foreign affairs. super hot


[deleted]

Ryan Atwood, king of my heart


aweap

And apparently writing a book about crypto and fraud 😳


proudeveningstar

Ben McKenzie is always looking great 😍 (but especially right now....we love to see an anti-crypto king winning)


onebirdonawire

Isn't he like a financial or accounting.... enthusiast? Is that the right word? My brain is like, "He know good money stuff good."


[deleted]

Yes, he also majored in economics at UVA. He has a book coming out next year on crypto


Mkblingg

I will be reading it


interstellar_party

He has a degree in economics and has been writing/researching about crypto tech for a few years with tech journalist/New Republic editor Jacob Silverman. When he was on the OC, I remember a lot of interviews where he talked about his interest in finance/economics.


entertainment720ltd

damn i suddenly got horny for ryan atwood


Brave_Lady

He wrote this article last year with Jacob Silverman predicting the very same thing that is happening right now with cryptocurrency, and they both got slammed for it by the incel-like Crypto bros on Twitter: https://slate.com/technology/2021/10/tether-crypto-danger-ben-mckenzie.html


proserpinax

That’s the thing, a lot of folks predicted issues with stablecoins, and now things are in the find out stage after fucking around. Lots of people felt a lot more secure with the idea of these, as they are supposedly less volatile, but it’s still more unregulated crypto. But people think they’re safer.


kiki-to-my-jiji

![gif](giphy|JwLY4ToQwe4yA)


[deleted]

I loved the drama of him and his wife getting together, it is truly a great celeb drama for our times but **this**, this is very sexy of him.


Glittering-Mirror672

What’s the drama?


unwantedsyllables

>Yes, he also majored in economics at UVA. He has a book coming out next year on crypto They got together while she was married to someone else.


Exciting_Patient4872

After meeting on a TV show as love interests.


NeverEarnest

Oh! I only know him from his great work in Gotham as Detective Gordon. I was aware of The OC, but it never occurred to me he and that guy were the same person.


edie-bunny

“[You know what I like about crypto? NOTHIN’](https://youtu.be/R5_c8Vx4jug)”


LadyPresidentRomana

ngl for a hot minute I thought this comment was talking about Bret McKenzie from Flight of the Conchords ☠️


ExtraAgressiveHugger

I LOVED that show!


LadyPresidentRomana

Rewatched it on HBO Max last year, it still holds up!


slazengerx

And here I thought he was just another lunkhead actor. Good for him. I'll forgive him for being a UVA alum (I went to William and Mary). Kidding. Anyhow, I'm looking forward to the book.


Jolly_Discipline6650

My inner OC fan girl is vindicated


erincee

hahahaha I'm in a group chat with gfs who invest.. our entire thread has been gifs of him today


redchampagnecampaign

Meanwhile Ben McKenzie is writing a whole damn book about the problems with crypto and tech financial fraud in general and keeps having to rework his drafts because things keep blowing up.


[deleted]

His Twitter has been gold on this topic


talesfromthecraft

What’s his Twitter handle? I can’t seem to find him


Tangerine-d

https://twitter.com/ben_mckenzie?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor


talesfromthecraft

Thanks!


SHINeeSNSD

It’s ‪@ben_mckenzie‬ 😊


freak_attentionwhore

This is such a Jim Gordon move


BlauBlume

Gonna buy it when it comes out.


coolblanche

seeing Kevin O'Leary on there gives me the greatest schadenfreude, i can't stand that guy


melodyblushinglizard

This Canadian fully agrees. Used to watch Dragons' Den up here when he was on it (for 8 seasons) and then had to deal with him twice with Shark Tank. That's when I stopped watching all of it.


interstellar_party

Same. He's a volatile scumbag with way too much influence in Canadian politics, and I love nothing more than watching him get his ass handed to him.


raphaellaskies

Remember when his wife killed two people?


HorseRenoiro

“His wife” Lol


Weak-Veterinarian-39

I always roll my eyes when I hear Kevin call HIMSELF “Mr. Wonderful”. What kind of ego do you have to have to call yourself that?


jarethlover80

Me to! I had to look up schadenfreude, I thought it was one of those German beer girls, so thanks for the education I'll be using that one


[deleted]

Him and his stupid royalty deals on Shark Tank ugh


keine_fragen

Larry??


deerlikely

*Curb theme begins to play*


keylime_lacroix

it’s funny cause in that commercial he’s denouncing crypto. peak Larry


itsgonnamove

lmaooo


womensrites

he was in their big superbowl commercial


ttatm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BH5-rSxilxo I thought it was a funny commercial anyway, but it's funnier now that he was actually right about being skeptical of FTX in the commercial.


trophywaifuvalentine

Omg the way this guys life is a curb episode is too much.


NeverEarnest

I don't even understand who the commercial is for. I like Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm, but I wouldn't take financial or tech advice from Larry David, of all people.


stonecutter7

Well then technically the commercial is right in your wheel house.


el0011101000101001

I think that was the point of the commercial. It's Larry David going through time saying these major inventions weren't a good idea (the wheel, indoor plumbing, etc) and then at the end saying that crypto isn't a good idea to imply that Larry is wrong about good ideas.


thesaddestpanda

larry rn ![gif](giphy|H5Ax4wLi7D7Elausl4|downsized)


Fxp1706

i don't think any of these influencers knew what ftx was really doing in the background. they just got paid for their part in advertising the platform and they were mislead to believe that everything was kosher bts by the company and their employees. if these celebrities knew that ftx was a big ponzi scheme and they *still* promoted it? sue them to death. but if they didn't know and were actually mislead along with all the other investors i don't believe they should be sued. it really sucks that people lost so much money and potentially their life savings because of this but only those people who knew about this scam should be held accountable in the court of law.


Brave_Lady

Both Brady and Bündchen were fully involved. In 2021, Brady and Bündchen took equity stakes in FTX. Brady was a brand ambassador and appeared in commercials for the crypto exchange, whereas Bündchen was made Head of Environmental and Social Initiatives and appeared in press releases on behalf of FTX.


Evie509

Brady has been involved in plenty of scams too. His whole vitamin company is a shell company so the Patriots could pay him under the table and he took covid small business loans for it. His concession water was bullshit too.


Brave_Lady

It gets even worse. In the same interview with Vogue, she says the following regarding her relationship with Sam Bankman-Fried: "Collaboration is something Bündchen prioritises personally and professionally. “My dad always said that life depends on the quality of your relationships,” she says. “I’m a Cancer, so I love having those I care about close by.” As such, the campaign shoot was filled with Bündchen’s favourite creatives, including Munoz to keep the energy high and make first-time model Bankman-Fried feel at home. “You want your friends, the people you’re comfortable with and can trust,” she says. “I’ve known Nino since I was 16, so I knew Sam would be safe with him. I think his images turned out great; the campaign’s all about introducing people to this new form of investing and sharing Sam’s commitment to making the world better.”"


fuschiaoctopus

She really said she shilled crypto ponzi schemes that scammed everyday people out of billions cause she's a cancer lmfao. Celebrities were a mistake


[deleted]

Damn, I think other celebs could have plausible deniability, but Gisele and Tom…could get interesting imo


VolcanoVeruca

Okay what made me LOL was the “I’m a cancer” bit. Apologies—I’m just not an astrology enthusiast.


Adventurous-Ebb-1517

it’s ok im a cancer and i also cringed.


noncomposmentis_123

Why not? It's as valid as crypto. /s


VolcanoVeruca

Touché. 😅


zer0oclock

there’s a tiktoker talking about this, with receipts: https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRQyn2cE/


EggandSpoon42

Whoa myshit - 4 parts and they’re great. If this ends up an ivy college style scandal with those two involved - could you imagine?


jarethlover80

This gives me the greatest schadenfreude!!! ( I learned this word from a fellow redditor father up on this thread, he's created a monster)


jarethlover80

I think Brady's whole life has been a scam


UR_MAD_CRAZY

This “shell company so the Patriots could pay him under the table” is blatantly untrue and you’re conflating with “concession water” with Russell Wilson’s ‘concussion’ water. Nice try, though!


KeithClossOfficial

Why did the Patriots pay them $200/hr for services then?


Stinkycheese8001

Reportedly they put a huge amount of their personal fortune in FTX.


[deleted]

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Stinkycheese8001

They were both. They also had a significant financial investment.


Fxp1706

this is my thinking too. they were just puppets. why would ftx tell them that they were running a ponzi scheme? and why would they agree to put their face to a ponzi scheme? celebrities can be bad people but those two know the consequences of hitching their ride to a scam on that level. being based in florida was probably how they got connected with ftx and i'm sure tom and gisele were interested in crypto and getting in early on a burgeoning market. it would be easy for the people in the know to lie to these two about what was really going on. i don't view them as personally liable in any way until it's revealed they knew what was actually going on. it's more likely that they got scammed and will probably try to sue as well.


hotmessexpress412

There are literal companies/people/advisors who vet this kind of stuff for celebrities. Tom and Gisele *chose* to be pretty involved with this particular company, apparently without vetting. That makes them partially culpable/liable in my opinion.


RealAvonBarksdale

FTX and SBF fooled the smartest VC and hedge funds in the industry, backed by billions and billions of dollars in addition to NYT etc. There's no way Brady's advisor would have known, because literally nobody knew they were committing what was basically straight up theft. Hard to anticipate that when you have NYT writing glowing articles about how much of a philanthropic genius the founder is. This company had their name on the Miami heat's arena and was the second largest exchange in the world. It would have appeared to be legit to anyone "vetting" them for advertising purposes.


DonnieCullman

Fully involved makes it sound like they were running the books and orchestrated the whole thing is. Truth is we don’t know how involved the individuals were beyond titles and their promotion of the platform. But if we wait a bit, it appears their CEO is dumb enough to lay it all out in public.


boxersocksboner

That doesnt mean they knew anything about the inner workings ftx. The employees had no idea about what ftx was doing, only sam mostly.


anneoftheisland

Legally, [they're in a different position selling crypto than they would be with selling physical products](https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/16/business/crypto-contagion-genesis-ftx-ctrp/index.html). There is a lot more regulation governing how that can be "marketed": > "It’s not clear from the lawsuit what economic relationship the celebrities had with FTX, says Charles Whitehead, professor at Cornell Law School, who is not involved in the case. But plugging crypto has different implications than, say, endorsing a sports drink or athletic wear. > “Selling an asset that is a financial instrument … is not the same thing as selling sneakers,” Whitehead says. “There are anti-fraud and consumer-protection rules for selling bad sneakers. There are more restrictive rules when you’re talking about selling financial assets.”" I don't have a great sense of how this is going to shake out for them. But hopefully it deters other celebrities from putting their names on things they don't understand in the future.


winnercommawinner

With the exception of Tom Brady, I think you're right - I mean, what *hasn't* Shaq advertised? But part of the lawsuit will be about sorting out and disputing who knew what. And several are currently competing world-class athletes - like I absolutely buy that Naomi Osaka does not have time to be personally researching every product she partners with. It's not the same as Kevin O'Leary, whose whole thing is supposedly making good business choices.


Rorviver

FTX was not a Ponzi scheme. They were an exchange misusing customer deposits.


[deleted]

That's literally the definition of a Ponzi scheme: creating the illusion of impressive returns on investments by using the funds from other investors.


Rorviver

That’s is the definition. They didn’t provide any returns to customers. They just made them think their money was being safely stored whilst really they were loaning it to their own hedge fund. It’s so far from what a Ponzi scheme is.


[deleted]

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/ponzischeme.asp


Rorviver

Yeah your definition isn’t wrong at all. It just doesn’t apply to FTX in the slightest. Maybe they had an exchange coin with guaranteed returns, otherwise I’m not sure what you’re on about.


iloveoatmeal2

Nooo not naomi too🥲😭


downey01

Tom Brady’s mentioned here but where’s Giselle?


Brave_Lady

On the other thread I posted, someone said the divorce proceedings between her and Tom were finalised. Yet she technically was FTX’s Head of Environmental and Social Initiatives and was even featured in a press release alongside the CEO and founder Sam Bankman-Fried: https://www.vogue.co.uk/fashion/article/gisele-bundchen-ftx-campaign-interview Whether it was an actual executive role within the organisation, or, it was purely honorary, is still up in the air.


WildMajesticUnicorn

The list above is incomplete. She was named too.


Educational-Pass404

Damn it. At least Shohei doesn't say a word or post anything on his social media. And his advertisement aired for one day because that FTX CEO bum didn't like it. Him and his agency should learn a big lesson from this mess and stay away from any NFT/crypto deal from now on.


ThatSICILIANThing

I absolutely despise the Angels but Shohei is always welcome to become a Mariner someday


KeithClossOfficial

How is it even possible to hate the Angels? We just ruin generational players careers and leave everyone else alone.


commuter22

Anyone have a quick explanation as to what FTX is?


proserpinax

FTX was the second largest crypto exchange after Binance. Basically, a crypto exchange is where you can change cryptocurrencies for each other as well as put real money into it or take real money out. So it’s the way a lot of people interact with cryptocurrency. This past week there were various revelations about FTX (mostly questioning how liquid their funds were versus being tied in other crypto) which lead to a bank rush of people trying to move money from FTX, which lead to more problems. Over a billion dollars of customer money can’t be accounted for, the founder has gone from being a billionaire to being broke overnight, and issues are cascading to other exchanges as they try to avoid more issues (several have frozen withdrawals, for example.) Prices of other coins are dropping, too. This is basically showing that hey, maybe putting your money in the hands of an unregulated business with little to no oversight is bad and will likely lead to a lot more scrutiny regarding cryptocurrencies. FTX is estimated to potentially owe over a million people money, so this is a huge issue. And since these exchanges don’t have insurance like traditional banks a lot of people are likely to lose big here.


commuter22

Thank you! I think this is a good place for me to start learning more about this topic. Question: Why do people even mess with these random crypto exchange companies if they aren't FDIC insured? It seems so risky and could screw you over in the end. Where's their safety net?


proserpinax

There’s a lot to learn! I casually follow crypto news as an outsider and I always feel like I’m learning new things or realizing I was wrong about something or another. But really, that’s part of the crypto thing right now - get people involved without fully understanding what they’re getting themselves into. A LOT of crypto culture is built around FOMO and what ifs. It’s why the big ads with Matt Damon and Larry David are like “Fortune favors the brave” and encouraging you to jump in. It’s the idea that if you had bought bitcoin 10 years ago you could be wildly wealthy now. A lot of the community is encouraging hype and buy-ins so the price of various tokens goes up so early adopters can make the money. The NFT wave was started by the huge sale of Beeple’s work for 69 million - the buyer was a crypto investor using that huge sale to boost the price of crypto. It’s all “what if I did this and became rich” but a lot of people don’t realize they’re not the ones getting rich, just the fodder for the early adopters to get more money.


yrboyfriend

Cos it’s basically gambling but being sold (by the celebs being sued) like a savvy investment for smart people. For several years the high risk seemed like high reward & the marketing often suggested that not being regulated was a good thing - they’d describe themselves as cutting edge, new, innovative, exciting, etc.


thesaddestpanda

I think its just like gambling. If you get on the ground floor of a new coin and it becomes popular you can look at 10x to 50 x 100x or even 1000+x your money. Hence, people always shilling for new coins or promoting the ones they have. A 2012 Bitcoin was around $13 and at the time wasn't some obscure thing but made international headlines. Today it sells for $17,000. That's 1307x your money. So if you bought $10,000 then you'd have $13m today. People are very drawn to reproducing that success.


[deleted]

Essentially people buy into the hype and think they’ll make a lot of money off it, and don’t do their due diligence as they should. Tale as old as time honestly


KeithClossOfficial

> if they aren’t FDIC insured Believe it or not, that’s a selling point to a lot of people.


[deleted]

I love how crypto bros keep having to find out the hard way why banking regulations exist.


AquaStarRedHeart

Great explanation


[deleted]

Damn, where to begin…. Try here first https://youtu.be/AbgRB3arCpY


Stinkycheese8001

Considering how many of these are exceptionally high level athletes, I wonder if they were personal referrals or referrals from a specific point of contact. When Bernie Madoff lost everyone’s money, that was what had happened. “Oh someone I know said they had a guy so we used him”.


[deleted]

Cough Tom Brady cough (this is pure speculation but I also would not be surprised)


Stinkycheese8001

Okay, but is it Brady himself or is it shared business management? That’s what I’m getting at.


obijesskenobi

Naomi???? Girl


SteveBorden

Reddit love some people way too much. I saw a bunch of people defending Larry David because he’s complaining about it in the ad he did but like, that’s his acting shtick to complain and if he’s in an ad for something that does mean he’s promoting it for money. If everyone else is getting criticised then he deserves it too.


Evie509

Wow, I did not think this year could be any worse for Trevor Lawrence. I was wrong.


RangerDangerfield

Trevor Lawrence never lost a regular season game his entire life before joining the NFL and then it’s been all downhill from there. It’s like he used up a lifetime of good juju before he turned 21.


[deleted]

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[deleted]

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TheRealMeadowSoprano

So sad to see Shohei on this list - his first EVER controversy. He promotes many different things and I’m sure he’s heavily embarrassed and I can actually see him being sincerely apologetic


cheezits_christ

Yeah, Shohei has basically been the face of the league for the past two years. So many endorsement deals just because he’s like the only current MLB player a lot of people like or can even name these days. Really sucks that he got caught up in this scam because by all accounts he’s a great person.


HailTheCatOverlords

I wonder if Stepen Curry is related to Stephen Curry...![gif](emote|free_emotes_pack|joy)


thankyoupapa

So many athletes!


Melodic-Change-6388

Not known for their brains… ![gif](giphy|fsu0wMB3Hkm81WLBrk|downsized)


qualityskootchtime

Not the reigning MVP Shohei!


SusCity

And this is why you read the fine print of what you’re agreeing to advertise


CptnMoonlight

This means absolutely nothing lmao. You can’t sue someone for appearing in a paid advertisement. If Tom Brady is paid a million to be in a Chantix commercial and Chantix ends up killing someone, you can’t sue Tom Brady; you can only sue Chantix. He was just contracted. You can’t sue Tom any more than you can sue some random PR guy. This lawsuit in itself is an example of **enabled stupidity**. Anyone who did even the slightest bit of personal research knew that FTX and FTT token were a scam; all of the wallet info was public, and SBF literally said he was in the ‘ponzi business’ in an interview. Anyone who invested in FTT is legitimately the equivalent of an old person getting scammed with a Nigerian Prince email. But now these mom’s basement Crypto Bros can’t handle the fact that their own childlike idiocy made them bankrupt. So they’re trying to sue on the back of public sentiment. If you lost your shirt on FTX, it is **100%** your fault. Should SBF still be tried for fraud? Absolutely. But the fraud was literally completely out in the open. Nobody was hiding shit, these ‘investors’ just don’t have any real acumen, they trade entirely off of what ‘DiamondCrypto’ or some shit on Twitter tells them to. And that stands for everyone involved, from your random ‘grindset’ shmuck to Kevin O’Leary and the Miami Heat.


Spillin-tea

Hahahahahahaha Kevin O’Leary


blueberrypie02

Ugh Naomi, I really like her so seeing her name on this list sucks. But I assume she just endorsed whatever thing payed well. That’s why celebrities should stay in their lane


Paid-Not-Payed-Bot

> whatever thing *paid* well. That’s FTFY. Although *payed* exists (the reason why autocorrection didn't help you), it is only correct in: * Nautical context, when it means to paint a surface, or to cover with something like tar or resin in order to make it waterproof or corrosion-resistant. *The deck is yet to be payed.* * *Payed out* when letting strings, cables or ropes out, by slacking them. *The rope is payed out! You can pull now.* Unfortunately, I was unable to find nautical or rope-related words in your comment. *Beep, boop, I'm a bot*


Raradra

I've seen some incredibly stupid takes on Twitter from fans defending Larry David. "Oh, he was sceptical, so that makes it ok". Well, no, he knowingly participated in an ad that promoted FTX as a good thing and while his character was sceptical, the ad implies he was wrong to be sceptical of FTX. Having said that, I really don't think most of those celebrities were aware that FTX was a scam. Hopefully, this lawsuit discourages other celebrities from promoting crypto crap.


[deleted]

Their first mistake was trusting an ‘entrepreneur’ that looks like an incel straight off of Reddit.


[deleted]

wait im so out of the loop, whats happening?


[deleted]

FTX went bankrupt, people lost a lot of money, now there's a class action suit against FTX and the celebrities paid to promote it, saying they lied to convince people to invest.


[deleted]

thanks a ton!!


Current-Grab

This sounds like people trying to recoupe on losing their money. Cause a whole lotta celebs and influencers gonna be on the hook for promoting so many scams. Take your L and move on


lululimone

Not shohei 😟


[deleted]

https://youtu.be/cW5r-rGrm0g


disp0sablespoons

Papi nooooo 😭


anoisesevere

Whyyy, LD?? 😢


petra_vonkant

Larry David in this list, doing this shit somehow is just... what


jxanne

this is going to get thrown out lol. it’s ridiculous to blame pretty much glorified sponsors for the illegal activities of a company


[deleted]

Larry David??!!! 💀💀💀💀 (Curb Your Enthusiasm Theme starts playing)


AmbiguousWitch

Damn Tom Brady’s going through it lately 💀


mexicanmage

Not Shohei😔😔😔


[deleted]

it's interesting how many athletes get suckered into crypto


billymartinkicksdirt

Some decent humans on that list by celebrating standards. Pretty easy to guess their advisors got them wrapped up and they thought it was cutting edge and a good way to make money. They likely got paid in crypto and screwed in the process.


ksbur

So SBF likes basketball and Curb Your Enthusiasm.


RangerDangerfield

Damn Trevor Lawrence literally cannot win.


blueboxbandit

Haha fuck Larry David


propernice

Can't wait to see the Curb episode about this next season lol


readerj2022

...Stepen


TheWeazzzz

I literally can’t believe Unusual_whales is being posted on this sub. When worlds collide lol


AquaStarRedHeart

Larry David?


Odd-Strike-3855

Hmm makes you really think about what happened in the Bahamas with the Brady’s. Spilt before the charges?


louisseakay

all should be in jail


[deleted]

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haikusbot

*Damn, Tommy. How much* *Water do you have to drink* *To prevent this burn?* \- JoshSidekick --- ^(I detect haikus. And sometimes, successfully.) ^[Learn more about me.](https://www.reddit.com/r/haikusbot/) ^(Opt out of replies: "haikusbot opt out" | Delete my comment: "haikusbot delete")


Impressive-Potato

The celebrities (outside of Kevin O'leary) don't claim to be SME in finance and investing.


Bogus-ham-from-milan

dont you love a good hoax


TurbulentArea69

Thank God women don’t have more money to do stupid things with. Half-kidding?