Jamie Lee Curtis Confronts Meta Over AI-Generated Ad, Sparking Debate on Deepfake Regulation

Jamie Lee Curtis Celebrates Meta's Removal of Fake AI Ad: 'Shame Has Its Value'

Alex Valdes from Bellevue, Washington has been pumping content into the Internet river for quite a while, including stints at MSNBC.com, MSN, Bing, MoneyTalksNews, Tipico and more. He admits to being somewhat fascinated by the Cambridge coffee webcam back in the Roaring '90s. Jamie Lee Curtis went straight to the top, and it worked. The legendary star of the "Halloween" movie franchise managed to get an AI-generated ad showing her likeness removed after sending a public message to Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta. The ad had used Curtis' likeness to promote "some bullshit that I didn't authorize, agree to or endorse," Curtis wrote in the DM to Zuckerberg, whose company owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads, among other properties. The fake AI commercial used footage from an actual interview Curtis did with MSNBC's Stephanie Ruhle about the deadly Pacific Palisades fires earlier this year. The ad, which had been circulating on Instagram for months, showed a likeness of Curtis advertising a dental product, the Los Angeles Times reported. In an Instagram post directly addressing Zuckerberg on Monday, Curtis said, "If I have a brand, besides being an actor and author and advocate, it is that I am known for telling the truth and saying it like it is and for having integrity and this (MIS)use of my images (taken from an interview I did with @stephruhle during the fires) with new, fake words put in my mouth, diminishes my opportunities to actually speak my truth." A representative for Meta did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Variety reported that Meta spokesperson Andy Stone said the ads violated Meta's policies "and have been removed." Curtis celebrated via Instagram: "IT WORKED! YAY INTERNET! SHAME HAS IT'S VALUE! THANKS ALL WHO CHIMED IN AND HELPED RECTIFY!" The Curtis incident is only the latest in the growing issue of AI being used to hijack celebrities' likenesses for various purposes. Earlier this year, award-winning actor Scarlett Johansson warned about the "immediate future of humanity at large" after a deepfake video using her likeness went viral. Deepfakes are created using audio and visual samples of real people to create realistic-looking photos and videos (see our explainer here). This particular video used the likenesses of Johansson and other Jewish celebs such as Jerry Seinfeld and Drake protesting Kanye West for trying to sell T-shirts featuring the swastika symbol on his Yeezy website. Another deepfake falsely showed superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes trashing himself after a blowout defeat in the 2025 Super Bowl. One from 2023 falsely showed actor Tom Hanks promoting a dental plan. And during the 2024 presidential election campaign, superstar singer Taylor Swift chastised then-candidate Donald Trump for posting a deepfake that purportedly showed Swift supporting his run for office.

Jamie Lee Curtis publicly shamed Mark Zuckerberg to remove a deepfaked ad

The scam ad "diminishes my opportunities to actually speak my truth" the actress wrote. Jamie Lee Curtis is the latest celebrity to call attention to scam ads on Facebook and Instagram that use AI-manipulated video to hawk sketchy products. Curtis also appears to have encountered another issue familiar to many Facebook users: struggling to get the company's attention. In posts on Facebook and Instagram, the actress asked Mark Zuckerberg to intervene to stop the spread of a "totally AI fake commercial" of her. "My name is Jamie Lee Curtis and I have gone through every proper channel to ask you and your team to take down this totally AI fake commercial for some bullshit that I didn't authorize, agree to or endorse," she wrote. The post also included screenshots of the Meta CEO's Instagram -- Zuckerberg apparently doesn't follow Curtis -- and a screenshot from the scam ad. "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 and this use of my images ... with new, fake words put in my mouth, diminishes my opportunities to actually speak my truth," she wrote. "I've been told that if I ask you directly, maybe you will encourage your team to police it and remove it." It's not clear what the video, which seemed to rely on manipulated footage from an interview Curtis did with MSNBC, was intended to promote. Curtis shared a screen grab with text that said "I'd want everyone suffering from." But Curtis is far from the first celebrity to get caught up in such a scam. Earlier this year, Engadget reported that dozens of Facebook pages were using AI tech to manipulate videos of Elon Musk and other celebrities in order to promote fake cures for diabetes. Many of those clips used similar phrasing, such as "If I were to die tomorrow, I'd want every diabetic, including you, to know this." The rise of cheap and readily available AI tools have made it relatively easy for scammers to impersonate celebrities to sell sketchy products or promote other schemes. Last year, Tom Hanks warned his followers about ads "promoting miracle cures and wonder drugs" using his name and voice. He said the ads were made "fraudulently" with the help of AI. Johnny Depp also warned his fans about AI-enabled impersonators. "Today, AI can create the illusion of my face and voice," he wrote. "Scammers may look and sound just like the real me." A spokesperson for Meta said the company was removing the video flagged by Curtis for violating its policies but declined to comment further. The company said last year it was cracking down on "celeb bait" scams, but hasn't disclosed how many celebrities or public figures are participating in the program which relies on facial recognition technology. In a comment on her Instagram post, Curtis confirmed that she did eventually get Meta's attention. "IT WORKED! YAY INTERNET! SHAME HAS IT'S VALUE! THANKS ALL WHO CHIMED IN AND HELPED RECTIFY!"

Meta Removes Deepfake AI Ad After Jamie Lee Curtis Calls Out Mark Zuckerberg - Decrypt

Meta removed the ad within hours, as backlash over unauthorized deepfakes targeting public figures continues to grow. Academy Award-winning actor Jamie Lee Curtis publicly confronted Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Monday after discovering that her likeness had been used without permission in an AI-generated advertisement . "It's come to this @zuck," Curtis wrote on Instagram, tagging Zuckerberg directly after unsuccessfully attempting to contact Meta and the CEO through private channels. The ad, which Curtis did not name, repurposed footage from a past MSNBC interview she gave during the Los Angeles wildfires, altering her speech with artificial intelligence to promote an undisclosed product. Curtis said the result was a misrepresentation that compromised her reputation for truth-telling and personal integrity. "This (MIS)use of my images... with new, fake words put in my mouth, diminishes my opportunities to actually speak my truth," she wrote. By late afternoon, the actor confirmed the ad had been pulled. "IT WORKED! YAY INTERNET! SHAME HAS IT'S VALUE!" she posted on Instagram, thanking her supporters. Meta has not publicly acknowledged the removal but confirmed to media outlets that the ad had been taken down. Curtis, best known for her breakout role in John Carpenter's "Halloween" and more recently for her Oscar-winning performance in "Everything Everywhere All at Once," has had a decades-long career marked by both mainstream visibility and a strong public voice. Her decision to go public with the appeal comes as concern grows around the unchecked use of generative AI to replicate the identities of real people, often without consent and legal accountability. In February, Israeli AI artist Ori Bejerano released a video using unauthorized AI-generated versions of Scarlett Johansson, Woody Allen, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. The video, a response to a Super Bowl ad by Kanye West that directed viewers to a website selling a swastika T-shirt, depicted the fake celebrities wearing parody t-shirts featuring Stars of David in a stylized rebuttal to West's imagery. "I have no tolerance for antisemitism or hate speech," Johansson said condemning the video, "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." Even the wildfires Curtis referenced in her original interview became a target for AI-powered disinformation. Fabricated images showing the Hollywood Sign engulfed in flames and scenes of mass looting circulated widely on X, formerly Twitter, prompting statements from officials and fact-checkers clarifying that the images were completely false.

Jamie Lee Curtis calls out Mark Zuckerberg over AI video dupe of her

In a social media post May 12, Curtis called out the Meta founder for failing to take down an AI-powered commercial on one of the company's platforms that she claims used her likeness without permission. "Hi. We have never met," Curtis wrote alongside a screenshot of her unsuccessful attempt to message Zuckerberg on Instagram. "My name is Jamie Lee Curtis and I have gone through every proper channel to ask you and your team to take down this totally AI fake commercial for (something) ... that I didn't authorize, agree to or endorse," she wrote. "I tried to DM you and slide on in, but you don't follow me so I've had to take to the public instaverse to try to reach you," she continued. "If I have a brand, besides being an actor and author and advocate, it is that I am known for telling the truth and saying it like it is and for having integrity," Curtis wrote, revealing the commercial misused photos from an interview she had done with MSNBC's Stephanie Ruhle in the aftermath of the wildfires that ravaged the greater Los Angeles area earlier this year. "This (MIS)use of my images," Curtis wrote, "diminishes my opportunities to speak my truth. I've been told that if I ask you directly, maybe you will encourage your team to police it and remove it. I long ago deleted Twitter, so this is the only way I can think of reaching you." In a follow-up to her public request, Curtis commented just two hours after the post went live that the video had been taken down. "IT WORKED! YAY INTERNET!" she wrote. "SHAME HAS IT'S VALUE! THANKS ALL WHO CHIMED IN AND HELPED RECTIFY!" Curtis' outcry comes as a growing number of celebrities speak out against the unauthorized use of their likeness for AI-generated photos or videos. The technology is trained on real-life content, but can then reproduce it in an altered form based on a user's request. Sir David Attenborough recently said he was "profoundly disturbed" by the use of an AI-generated dupe of his voice, and last year Tom Hanks warned fans that a company was using an AI version of him to promote a dental plan. In May 2024, Scarlett Johansson also voiced concern, taking on the AI giant Sam Altman and his company OpenAI, alleging its ChatGPT product had copied her voice without consent.

Jamie Lee Curtis AI video taken down after she appeals to Zuckerberg directly

Oscar-winning actor Jamie Lee Curtis said on Monday that an AI-generated video depicting her likeness was finally removed from Instagram after she made a public appeal directly to Meta's chief executive officer, Mark Zuckerberg. Curtis said she had no luck going through the proper channels to try and get Meta to take down the AI-generated advertisement -- which used manipulated footage of Curtis to make it seem as if she were endorsing a dental product -- so the actor made a public appeal to Zuckerberg in a post on Instagram. "It's come to this @zuck," Curtis wrote on Instagram, tagging Zuckerberg's account. "Hi. We have never met. My name is Jamie Lee Curtis and I have gone through every proper channel to ask you and your team to take down this totally AI fake commercial for some bullsh- that I didn't authorize, agree to or endorse," she wrote. "I tried to DM you and slide on in, but you don't follow me so I've had to take to the public instaverse to try to reach you." Curtis said she takes pride in "telling the truth and saying it like it is," but added that having "fake words put in my mouth, diminishes my opportunities to actually speak my truth." She continued: "I've been told that if I ask you directly, maybe you will encourage your team to police it and remove it. I long ago deleted Twitter, so this is the only way I can think of reaching you." Later that day, Curtis commented on her initial post to say that her efforts were successful. "IT WORKED! YAY INTERNET! SHAME HAS IT'S VALUE! THANKS ALL WHO CHIMED IN AND HELPED RECTIFY!" she wrote. A spokesperson for Meta told The Hill that "the ads were in violation and have since been removed."