Scarlett Johansson is speaking out after someone used her likeness without permission to create an AI-generated video of the actress criticizing Kanye West’s antisemitic Super Bowl commercial.
The video shows an AI-generated Johansson and several other celebrities—Jerry Seinfeld, Mila Kunis, Jack Black, Drake—and tech founders Mark Zuckerberg, Sam Altman, Larry Page, and Sergey Brin wearing white T-shirts featuring a middle finger, a Star of David, and the word KANYE. “Enough is enough,” the clip ends. “Join the fight against antisemitism.”
West’s Super Bowl commercial directed viewers to the website for his Yeezy clothing brand. But those who visited Yeezy.com instead saw only one item: a $20 T-shirt with a Swastika on it.
Johansson, who is Jewish, condemned West’s commercial but also said there is no acceptable use of someone’s likeness without their permission and urged the US government to pass legislation that protects its citizens against deepfakes. Johansson’s agent provided her full statement to PCMag under the condition we would run it in its entirety:
“It has been brought to my attention by family members and friends, that an AI-generated video featuring my likeness, in response to an anti-Semitic view, has been circulating online and gaining traction. I am a Jewish woman who has no tolerance for antisemitism or hate speech of any kind. But I also firmly believe that the potential for hate speech multiplied by AI is a far greater threat than any one person who takes accountability for it. We must call out the misuse of AI, no matter its messaging, or we risk losing a hold on reality.
I have unfortunately been a very public victim of AI, but the truth is that the threat of AI affects each and every one of us.
There is a 1,000-foot wave coming regarding AI that several progressive countries, not including the United States, have responded to in a responsible manner. It is terrifying that the US government is paralyzed when it comes to passing legislation that protects all of its citizens against the imminent dangers of AI.
I urge the US government to make the passing of legislation limiting AI use a top priority; it is a bipartisan issue that enormously affects the immediate future of humanity at large.”
The deepfake video was originally posted by X user Ori Bejerano, who called out West for the Super Bowl ad as well as posts on X in which West declared “I am a Nazi,” praised Hitler, and spread antisemitic conspiracy theories. It’s still on X as of this writing; a Community Note about it being AI-generated was only added to a separate tweet sharing Bejerano’s video.
This is the second time Johansson has spoken out about the misuse of AI. In May 2024, OpenAI released a demo of its AI-powered “Sky” voice assistant that sounded a lot like the actress. She accused the company of using her voice without permission, revealing that she turned down an offer from CEO Sam Altman to use her voice. OpenAI insists it found another voice actor, but it still disabled the Sky voice.
In both instances, there are sexual overtones to the use of Johansson’s likeness. In the social media video about West’s commercial, she appears in the first frame with tussled hair and a tight-fitting T-shirt. In the case of OpenAI, Altman wanted to use her voice to recreate the movie Her, in which the main character falls in love with Johansson’s voice inside a computer.
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Sexualized AI content has been a particular issue. In July, Meta failed to take down a naked AI photo of a female user in a timely fashion. High school students have also spoken out against the spread of explicit images of them at school, CNN reports. But AI-generated videos come in all shapes and sizes, especially as new tools make them free to produce. After the Kansas City Chiefs lost the Super Bowl, creators spun up humorous videos of quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
These videos are legal in the US, although federal and state lawmakers have introduced bills to go after unauthorized deepfakes. In September, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law that prevents AI deepfakes from appearing on social media ahead of an election. That prompted a lawsuit from Elon Musk, who argues it would make “parody illegal” on social media.
At this week’s AI Action Summit in Paris, Vice President JD Vance endorsed an anti-regulation stance to AI development to promote the growth of the industry. “We believe that excessive regulation of the AI sector could kill a transformative industry just as it’s taking off,” Vance says. “And we’ll make every effort to encourage pro-AI policies.”
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About Emily Forlini
Senior Reporter
