Who is Kelli Christina? Woman sues Brad Pitt for $100k, accuses him of wooing her and leaving for money
A Texas woman has sued actor Brad Pitt for $100,000, claiming that he wooed her with talk of marriage and then left her for big bucks on a charity debacle — but the actor’s lawyers said the woman was fooled by an online scammer. The woman named Kelli Christina, a well-being care CEO from Plano, Texas also made startling claims that she and Pitt even developed a close relationship and had “discussions of marriage,” Page Six reported. She further claimed in legal papers that she paid $40,000 for the actor to make five appearances on occasions that she organized for his charity Make It Proper Basis, which constructs new houses for victims of Hurricane Katrina.
Dismissing such claims, Pitt’s lawyer said Christina was cruelly tricked by a cyber scammer who acted to be Pitt, the site reportedly said. The ‘Fight Club’ star's legal team filed a motion in a Texas court saying he had never had any dealings with Christina and so filed to dismiss the case. “Neither the Make It Right Entities nor Mr. Pitt entered into an agreement with Plaintiff,” the court documents said.
“Rather, as (Christina) herself has acknowledged, it appears (Christina’s) communications about any agreement were apparently with one or more individuals unlawfully posing as — but not in any way affiliated with — defendants online,” the motion to dismiss mentions. The motion further says, “By (Christina’s) own admissions, the communications she now alleges to have had with Mr. Pitt were actually between Plaintiff and one or more individuals posing as, in Plaintiff’s words, ‘fake Brad Pitts’ and not in any way affiliated with the Make It Right Foundation.”
However, in sharp contrast to this, Christina’s original complaint, filed in the Texas Eastern District Court, stated: “In 2018, Plaintiff Kelli Christina was approached by Brad Pitt for the purposes of raising funds for the Make It Right Foundation, a charitable cause to benefit victims of Hurricane Katrina.” It adds, “Kelli Christina was persuaded by Brad Pitt’s presentation of the allegedly meritorious cause. Plaintiff and Brad Pitt . . . entered into a business agreement with specific terms and conditions.”
As per the deal between Pitt and Christina, the latter was to organize events and market to the general public to raise money for Pitt’s Make It Right Foundation’s charitable causes. This foundation was founded by the actor in 2007 to provide aid in the environmentally friendly rebuilding of New Orleans' Lower 9th Ward after Hurricane Katrina. In the present suit, Christina claims that she paid $40,000 for the actor to make five appearances at events but Pitt canceled them all at the very last minute with the promise of holding it “next time”. He also pocketed the $40,000 appearance fee as per her claim.
A representative for Pitt declined to comment. Favoring Pitt a source said as reported by Page Six, “This is a sad case of someone who was the victim of an online celebrity internet scam that had nothing to do with the actual celebrity.” The source added, “Hopefully others can learn from this unfortunate situation.”
However, Christina responded to Pitt’s motion to dismiss her claims by saying she will fight it. “We have been litigating since March 2020 and I am pushing back on media,” she reportedly said as was mentioned in Page Six. “This lawsuit is important for the country so I will continue to fight Brad Pitt and Make it Right Foundation. I have 113 pages of organized discovery to support the charges and allegations. I wouldn’t expect this lawsuit to go away easily.”
Who is Kelli Christina?
Kelli Christina’s Linkedin bio says she has a demonstrated history of working leadership roles in the staffing and recruiting industry. She had a Bachelor of Science focused in Hotel and Restaurant Business Management from the University of North Texas. Christina has a robust experience in professional areas like sales, budgeting, business development, marketing, healthcare, and more.
Presently, she is the CEO and owner of KD-Staffing. This company is a recruiting firm that specializes in the placement of permanent nurses, mid-levels, managers, etc in the industry. On her inspiration to start her firm KD Staffing, the company’s website states, “Ms. Christina created KD-Staffing on the idea that ‘Recruiting Is An Art’. She has perfected her skills in this ‘Art’ through a number of managerial and leadership positions.” The site adds a key message that Christina wants to send to younger generations of women, “remember the importance of education.” She also advises them to be strong-willed.