Philadelphia Phillies star Bryce Harper said Monday he would not have made a personalized Cameo video had he known that FanDuel would use it as part of a VIP promotion for a customer, Terry Thompson, who has since sued the sportsbook for allegedly taking advantage of his gambling addiction.
"Had I known FanDuel's true intent, I would not have made the video," Harper said in a statement posted on Instagram on Monday. "The same is true had I known anything about Terry or his situation, or about any alleged
‘partnership' between Cameo and FanDuel."
Thompson sued FanDuel and his VIP host Bryttanni Morgan, DraftKings, the NFL and the league's official data distributor, Genius Sports in March. The lawsuit claims the sportsbooks caused him to become addicted to gambling and ultimately lose approximately $2 million in bets.
Harper said he received a request on Cameo in November 2024 to read the provided script for a personal "holiday video for Terry."
According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the video included Harper saying, "Hey, Terry? What's up, brother? Hey, man, your host Bryttanni from FanDuel wanted to make sure your Thanksgiving was extra special."
Harper also included a screenshot of the Cameo request with his Instagram statement which shows the Cameo instructions, "Hey Terry, Your host Bryttanni from FanDuel wanted to make sure your Thanksgiving was extra special so I just wanted to hop on and wish you and your family a wonderful Thanksgiving. Tell Max (son) I said hello."
Harper said in his statement Cameo had a separate category for business video requests and that he did not know the video to Terry would be used for commercial purposes.
"The request included a short script. I read it in good faith. FanDuel then put its own logo on the video and used it as a gambling promotion," Harper wrote. "I did not know FanDuel would do this. I did not consent to it, and FanDuel had no right to do it."
MLB players are allowed to do promotions with sportsbooks as long as they don't promote betting on baseball or authorize the use of their name, uniform number, image or likeness.
"I have no affiliation with FanDuel whatsoever," Harper wrote Monday.
Thompson's lawsuit claims Morgan encouraged him to bet more on FanDuel by offering him gifts and special promotions that included tickets and hotel accommodations for the Super Bowl.
Per the report, FanDuel told ESPN in a previous statement that its employees "are trained to recognize and flag signs of problem gambling and offer resources and tools. We continue to review and strengthen our policies to ensure we have the industry's strongest consumer protection initiatives."
Harper said he joined Cameo to engage with fans through paid personalized videos.
"What happened here went beyond anything I knew about or approved," he said.
--Field Level Media
