Philadelphia Phillies star Bryce Harper says he was tricked into recording a personal video message for gambling addicts.
In a statement released on his Instagram account on Monday ahead of his All-Star media appearance and Home Run Derby appearance, Harper commented for the first time on his 21-second video appearance for FanDuel customers in November 2024. The video, first reported by the Philadelphia Inquirer on Thursday, featured the gambling giant’s logo and showed Harper wishing fans a happy Thanksgiving.
The fan, Terry Thompson, and another plaintiff are suing several sportsbooks, including FanDuel, alleging that they intentionally coerce bettors into gambling using their products and VIP services. Thompson, who held VIP status at FanDuel, claims in the lawsuit that Brittany Morgan, FanDuel’s VIP manager, offered him perks like free tickets to the Super Bowl and hotel stays, as well as microbets to keep him gambling, even though he owed more than $1.5 million from gambling.
Harper’s name does not appear in the lawsuit. The video appears to be another benefit Morgan has in store for Thompson, a Philadelphia sports fan.
“What happened here was beyond anything I knew or authorized,” Harper said in a statement.
According to ESPN, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board is reviewing the video.
Harper said he has no relationship with FanDuel, the official betting partner of Major League Baseball. He claimed he had no knowledge that the video would be used for commercial purposes.
Harper explained that in November 2024, he received a video request on Cameo, a platform often used by athletes and celebrities to record personalized videos for paying fans, from someone called “Brittani.”
In a screenshot shared by Harper, the request was accompanied by a short script: “Hi Terry, FanDuel host Brittney wanted to make sure your Thanksgiving was special, so I just… I wanted to hop on over and wish you and your family a wonderful Thanksgiving! Tell Max (my son) I said hi!” The post suggested that Harper could add a “personal touch” to the message.
Harper followed that script in the video, ending by thanking the recipients for their support and wishing them happy holidays.
“I read[the script]in good faith,” Harper said in a statement. “FanDuel then put their own logo on the video and used it as a gambling promotion. I didn’t know FanDuel would do something like this, I didn’t consent to it, and FanDuel had no right to do it.”
“If I had known FanDuel’s true intentions, I would not have made the video. The same would have been true if I had known anything about Terry, his situation, or Cameo and FanDuel’s allegations.”
A recent report from Front Office Sports confirmed that FanDuel and Cameo have a partnership that will allow FanDuel VIP bettors to purchase Cameo videos.
Harper claimed at the time that he believed this was a personal request for a cameo role.
“Cameo had a separate category for business video requests, but at the time we had no idea that the videos would be used for commercial purposes,” Harper said in a statement.
Harper, who made more than $250 million in his career, has personal messages starting at $899, according to his Cameo page. This case raises questions about how Harper vets these requests and how Cameo communicates requests from partners like FanDuel.
Mr. Harper may file a lawsuit against FanDuel, said two people briefed on the matter who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
— Matt Gelb of The Athletic contributed to this article.
