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After rapper Kanye West was banned from X (formerly Twitter) and dropped by his talent agent for racist and antisemitic remarks, a video that showed multiple Jewish celebrities speaking out against him went viral. The video was revealed to be a deepfake created through the use of AI.
One of the celebrities featured in the AI generated video, Scarlett Johansson, has now spoken out against the creation of AI deepfake videos. The actor’s voice and likeness have previously appeared in several other deepfakes without her permission.
Kanye West dropped by agency after series of scandals
Kanye West made headlines two weeks ago after his wife, Bianca Censori, appeared on the Grammys red carpet in a totally transparent dress. After the incident, West took to X to post a rant that included racist comments and antisemitic slurs. He called himself a Nazi and said that he thinks Hitler was “so fresh,” among other highly offensive comments.
He also aired an ad during the Super Bowl last Sunday that encouraged viewers to purchase from his website Yeezy.com, which only featured a swastika t-shirt. The website was taken down by Shopify for violating the terms of agreement. Now the site simply displays a blank white page with the message “Yeezy Stores Coming Soon.” His X account has since been deactivated as well.
On Tuesday, February 11, West was dropped by his talent agent, Daniel McCartney of 33 & West, via a public Instagram post. “Effective immediately, I’m no longer representing YE (F/K/A Kanye West) due to his harmful and hateful remarks that myself nor 33 & West can stand for,” McCartney wrote.
AI deepfake videos shows Jewish celebrities criticizing West
In the midst of these ongoing scandals, a video that purported to show many Jewish celebrities opposing West went viral. The video was a deepfake generated with artificial intelligence, and none of the celebrities actually participated in the making of it. Ori Bejerano and Guy Bar said they created this deepfake video, as reported by Business Insider, stating it was “… an artistic and cultural statement aimed at confronting rising antisemitism.”
The video showed Scarlett Johanssen in a white t-shirt emblazoned with a star of David in the middle of a hand lifting a finger. “Kanye” was written on the t-shirt below the graphic. The AI video generator also incorporated deepfakes of multiple other Jewish celebrities including Jerry Seinfeld and Adam Sandler.
Johanssen released a statement to PEOPLE magazine in reaction to the deepfake video going viral. In the statement, she said, “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 A.I. is a far greater threat than any one person who takes accountability for it. We must call out the misuse of A.I., no matter its messaging, or we risk losing a hold on reality.”
“I urge the U.S. government to make the passing of legislation limiting A.I. use a top priority; it is a bipartisan issue that enormously affects the immediate future of humanity at large,” the statement concluded.