Why is someone impersonating Vincent Gallo on Facebook?

Rebecca Hawkes 17 May 2016 • 6:32pm

Don’t mess with Vincent Gallo. Earlier this month, it was reported that the controversial actor-director was suing a reporter who posted a recorded interview online without his permission.

Now, the filmmaker – whose second feature film The Brown Bunny was famously panned at the Cannes Film Festival in 2003 – is taking on Facebook.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Gallo is suing the social media giant after an unnamed party set up a fake account in his name and began befriending some of his real-life contacts.

Upsettingly, the complaint describes how the fake Gallo, referred to throughout as a “John Doe” or “Doe 1”, used the account to contact a number of women, including one of Gallo’s ex girlfriends, who was then misled into sending the impersonator intimate photographs of herself.

“The two had Facebook messenger conversations for a period of two months, where Doe 1 flirted, sent nude pictures from the waist down, and convinced her not only to send nude pictures back, but to travel from Europe to the United States to visit him," it reads.

"Once she solidified her plans to visit him, Doe 1 backed down and gave an excuse that he would be out of town during her planned visit. At this time, she sensed something was wrong and discovered, to her horror and embarrassment, that Doe 1 was in fact, not Mr Gallo."

Director and actor Vincent Gallo with Brown Bunny actress Chloe Sevigny in Cannes in 2003

Gallo, who is also suing the “John Doe”, claims that he is seeking a legal solution after repeated attempts to persuade Facebook to take down the account.

Standard procedure for anyone who finds themselves being impersonated on Facebook is to contact the company and show them proof that you are who you claim to be – and that the creator of the fake account is assuming your identity.

But Gallo says that, even after he sent multiple scanned copies of his driver’s license, Facebook were unable to verify his identity or resolve the situation.

A Facebook search reveals that an account apparently belonging to the actor is still live. But it is unclear whether or not this is the “fake” profile, or whether Gallo also has his own Facebook account.