How aI Deepfake of 007 Star Left Art Gallery Owner’s World in Tatters

It was the dream signing for the owner of an unknown Nottingham gallery – an exhibit including the work of Hollywood actor-turned-artist Pierce Brosnan, who would also take care of meet fans.

But the gallery’s owner has revealed how her livelihood and track record were ‘ruined’ after the Pierce Brosnan with whom she spent months negotiating the exhibit of a lifetime turned out not to be the Bond star however a ‘deepfake’.

Simone Simms has spoken for the first time about how she fell for the intricate artificial intelligence (AI) scam which led to her losing her ₤ 30,000 Long Eaton gallery.

Ms Simms informed The Mail on Sunday she was ‘villainised’ after offering ₤ 20,000 worth of tickets to art lovers with the guarantee of conference 71-year-old Brosnan, only to find she had been duped.

Scammers used AI to generate a persuading likeness of Mr Brosnan video-calling her from his ₤ 80million house in Hawaii.

Ms Simms recalled ‘how genuine’ he appeared on Zoom and how she ‘squealed with excitement that he remained in my living room talking to me’ before taking the bait and sending out the scammers ₤ 3,000 for ‘shipping fees’ for the art.

Her headache started when she contacted what she believed to be Mr Brosnan’s legitimate Facebook page at the start of 2023 and asked if he would show his paintings at her place.

She then states she was called by what she believed was the star and around 200 messages were exchanged between them on the Telegram messaging app, including a variety of going over the exhibition.

The AI deepfake of 007 star Pierce Brosnan that deceived art gallery owner Simone Simms

Mrs Simms (visualized, left) came down with a rip-off that resulted in her losing her ₤ 30,000 art gallery

More than 20,000 tickets were sold with the guarantee of conference 71-year-old Brosnan, who fraudsters had actually deepfaked to appear like he was calling Mrs Simms from his ₤ 80million house in Hawaii

A Pierce Brosnan painting. Mrs Simms exchanged 200 messages by means of Telegram with who she thought was the Bond star

A TikTok legal representative shared a deepfake of me being racist … I was sent home from work and almost jailed

In one audio message, listened to by The Mail on Sunday, lespoetesbizarres.free.fr 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 establish a conference,’ the voice says.

‘I have actually been swamped lately. Please let your team understand that I genuinely appreciate the invite to the art exhibit.

‘I have high expectations it will be a big success.’

In a subsequent video call, Mr Brosnan’s image appeared on the screen however 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 buddies were likewise in the video conference, one of 2 Ms Simms thought she had had with Brosnan, and classicalmusicmp3freedownload.com were both fooled, insisting she was not an ‘idiot’.

Among them, artist Neil Adcock, said: ‘It appeared like his authentic face. He said his boy had actually set it up for him. He said the noise problem was on our end. It continued for a while.’

Pierce Brosnan at the Art Miami VIP opening in Miami Florida

After the phony event was reserved, Mr Brosnan put out a statement damning the gallery, insisting he ‘would never ever charge for a meet and welcome’

The real Pierce’s art work. Mrs Simms promoted ₤ 500 ‘meet and greet’ tickets with the deepfake Mr Brosnan

Another painting the real Mr Brosnan. Mrs Simms states she wishes the star would acknowledge her as a victim rather than a villain

Others have actually reported being contacted by a phony Facebook account, claiming to be Mr Brosnan. Pictured: One of the genuine Mr Brosnan’s paintings

Sickening AI-generated kid abuse images are doubling every 6 months, Britain’s FBI cautions

Meanwhile, after Ms Simms booked and marketed her program, the real Mr Brosnan saw an ad for the exhibition featuring his art online and released a statement damning the gallery, insisting he ‘would never charge for a satisfy and greet’.

His lawyers sent her an instant cease-and-desist letter in November 2023, three days after she promoted the ₤ 500 VIP meet-and-greet tickets.

A ‘horrified’ Ms Simms realised her error and tearfully remembered: ‘It was the worst time of my life and it tainted my reputation.

‘Pierce injured me by providing the declaration. He should have done more research before he did due to the fact that he would understand I was just a fan connecting but he villainised me which’s where it began to fail.

‘I wish he would acknowledge me as a victim and not as a villain. He needs to inform the public about what truly occurred and set the tone.

‘I do not hate him, since he is a victim too. People abused his image. If I understood it wasn’t him, I would never ever have established the exhibit or sold the tickets.’

An image by Piers Brosnan illustrating a green location on the coast

Ms Simms reimbursed the ₤ 20,000 in tickets but was forced to shut her gallery in August 2024 after the event left her credibility in tatters. Pictured: A painting by Pierce Brosnan

Among the real Pierce Brosnan’s paintings illustrating a woman lying down

As quickly as she understood she had actually been fooled, Ms Simms reimbursed the ₤ 20,000 in tickets but was required to shut her gallery in August 2024 after the legend left her credibility in tatters, with many still believing she had actually attempted to rip-off them.

Others have reported being gotten in touch with by a fake Facebook account, claiming to be Mr Brosnan, asking which of his movies is their favourite before requesting for money.

It comes as last month The Mail exposed how a divorced lady was fooled into turning over ₤ 700,000 to a fraudster posing as Brad Pitt and requested money to fund his immediate kidney cancer treatment.

Mr Brosnan has actually been approached for comment.

NottinghamPierce BrosnanHawaii