TLDR: Actress Jamie Lee Curtis successfully prompted Meta to remove an AI-generated video that used her likeness without consent to endorse a product. After exhausting conventional reporting channels, Curtis directly appealed to Mark Zuckerberg on Facebook, leading to the video’s removal within hours. This incident highlights growing concerns over the unauthorized use of celebrity images and voices by AI, prompting calls for stronger legislative protections.
Hollywood icon Jamie Lee Curtis recently made headlines after an AI-generated video, which falsely depicted her endorsing a dental product, was swiftly removed from Meta’s platforms following her direct appeal to CEO Mark Zuckerberg. The incident underscores the escalating challenges celebrities and the public face with the proliferation of deepfake technology and the unauthorized use of personal likenesses.
The deceptive video reportedly manipulated footage from an emotional interview Curtis had given to MSNBC concerning the January wildfires in Los Angeles. In the manipulated content, false statements were inserted, making it appear as though the Oscar-winning actress was promoting a commercial product she had never authorized or endorsed. Curtis became aware of the fake advertisement approximately a month and a half prior to her public appeal, after a friend inquired about the video. She subsequently directed her agents, lawyers, and publicists to issue a cease and desist letter to Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram. However, these conventional channels proved ineffective, with Curtis describing the process as a ‘vacuum’ where ‘there are no people’ to contact and no responses to emails.
Frustrated by the lack of action through official avenues, Curtis took to her official Facebook page on Monday, May 12, 2025, to publicly address Mark Zuckerberg. In her post, she stated, ‘I have gone through every proper channel to ask you and your team to take down this totally AI fake commercial for some bulls*** that I didn’t authorise, agree to or endorse.’ She emphasized her personal brand of integrity, noting, ‘If I have a brand besides being an actor and author it is that I am known for telling the truth and saying it like it is and for having integrity.’ Curtis further articulated the broader threat, explaining that ‘Fake words put in my mouth diminishes my opportunities to actually speak my truth.’
Remarkably, within just two hours of Curtis’s public call-out, Meta confirmed the video had been removed. A Meta spokesman, Andy Stone, stated that the advertisement violated the company’s policies prohibiting fraud, scams, and deceptive practices. Curtis expressed her relief and satisfaction in a follow-up post, writing, ‘It worked! Yay Internet! Shame has its value!’ However, she also used the opportunity to highlight the significant risks posed by deepfakes, not just to celebrities but to public figures and ordinary citizens alike, likening the situation to ‘the wild wild West.’
This incident is not isolated. Jamie Lee Curtis joins a growing list of high-profile individuals, including Taylor Swift, Scarlett Johansson, and Tom Hanks, whose images and voices have been manipulated by AI without their consent for various purposes, from political endorsements to product promotions. The widespread misuse of generative AI technology has reignited urgent discussions around consent, misinformation, and the exploitation of public figures’ identities.
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In response to these escalating concerns, legislative efforts are gaining momentum. In California, Governor Gavin Newsom has already signed new legislation aimed at protecting performers from unauthorized digital replicas and deepfakes. Concurrently, in Washington, proposals such as the ‘No Fakes Act’ are being considered, which seek to hold tech platforms accountable for such violations, potentially imposing significant fines per infringement. As Curtis and others continue to warn, without robust legal frameworks and more effective content moderation mechanisms, the misuse of AI could continue to spiral, posing a serious threat to individual rights and public trust.
