Taylor Swift’s disturbingly obscene images were shared online by a deep fake p*rn website, and later widely shared on social media. Swifties on social media came in support of the Anti-Hero singer and pushed back on the offensive attack against her. Swift is reportedly furious over the images and is considering legal action. However, Taylor Swift is not the only celebrity affected by the dark side of AI technology.
Scarlett Johansson’s legal battle against an AI firm caught media attention in November 2023. This move from the Marvel actress came only days after the AI regulation agreement was signed between SAG and producers following the strike.
Not Just Taylor Swift, Scarlett Johansson Also Battled Unethical AI Use
On Wednesday night, Taylor Swift faced the dark side of AI technology when s*xually explicit AI-generated photos of her were shared all over the internet. The photos were allegedly created using deep fake technology by a site, infamous for its offensive content against celebrities. Fans were particularly enraged by the NFL theme of the photos, which they considered an invasion of Swift’s privacy as well as her boyfriend Travis Kelce‘s.
While Swift and team consider moving legally against the attack, she’s not the first celebrity to go into a legal battle against the evil side of the technology. In November 2023, Black Widow actress Scarlett Johansson‘s likeness was used by the firm Lisa AI to create an avatar for an online ad promotion. The company used footage from Johansson’s earlier fundraising campaign promotion with Omaze.
According to Variety, Lisa AI included a disclaimer in their ad, which read, “Images produced by Lisa AI. It has nothing to do with this person.” Immediately after the AI footage went viral, representatives of Johansson issued a statement that the Marriage Story actress was not a spokesperson for the app. Moreover, her attorney Kevin Yorn made it clear that the advertisement would be dealt with legally. He shared (via Variety):
“We do not take these things lightly. Per our usual course of action in these circumstances, we will deal with it with all legal remedies that we will have.”
In 2021, AI-generated videos of Tom Cruise appeared on TikTok, created by AI effects artist Chris Umé using footage of a stand-in actor (via CNN). Umé later launched a company Metaphysic, which creates AI videos for ad campaigns. Cruise never responded to the non-consensual use of his likeness. In October 2023, Tom Hanks took to Instagram to warn his fans of an ad using his digital likeness.
Taylor Swift Is Reportedly ‘Furious’ About Her AI Images
A source close to Taylor Swift revealed to Daily Mail that the Cruel Summer singer and her circle of family and friends are furious over the deep fake photos. They revealed that Swift is currently deciding on whether to take legal action or not. The source lashed out against the social media platforms that allowed the existence of such offensive accounts. They also demanded legislation and laws to prevent such acts in the future. The source told Daily Mail:
“Whether or not legal action will be taken is being decided but there is one thing that is clear: these fake AI generated images are abusive, offensive, exploitative, and done without Taylor’s consent and/or knowledge. The Twitter account that posted them does not exist anymore. It is shocking that the social media platform even let them be up to begin with.”
The source continued:
“These images must be removed from everywhere they exist and should not be promoted by anyone. Taylor’s circle of family and friends are furious, as are her fans obviously. Legislation needs to be passed to prevent this and laws must be enacted.”
Both fans of Taylor Swift and her boyfriend Travis Kelce have actively taken to social media to report and remove the obscene images. Daily Mail reported that Reddit and X have started removing the images from their platform.
