Marvel Star Calls Out A-Listers Video Blasting Ye’s Antisemitism For Using AI

On February 11, an AI-generated video that was released on social media showed many Jewish celebrities, including Steven Spielberg and Woody Allen, wearing a T-shirt with a raised middle finger and the word “Kanye” — a rejection of Kanye West’s, who legally is known as Ye, antisemitic statements.

The main thing surrounding the video is that none of the featured celebrities consented to participate as the video was created using “generative AI,” according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Released on Instagram by Ori Bejerano, an Israeli generative AI entrepreneur, the video has gone viral, riding a wave of anger at West and frustration over his persistence as a public figure despite a years-long record of antisemitism.

As of recent weeks, West posted numerous antisemitic tweets, then paid for a Super Bowl advertisement directing viewers to a website that sold a $20 T-shirt with a swastika on it. Bejerano’s caption, written in Hebrew, lists reasons why West’s antisemitic actions are offensive and calls for social networks to stop amplifying antisemitism and allowing people like West to “spread their poison.”

The Instagram post does not endorse any specific organization’s efforts to fight antisemitism, through it tags the accounts of several pro-Israel influencers and organizations including StandWithUs, Noa Tishby, and the Combat Antisemitism Movement. It does not label the video as AI-generated, despite the fact that Bejerano’s Instagram handle is @oribejerano_ai.

When’s she’s not fighting hand-to-hand combat as the superhero Black Widow, in Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, Scarlett Johansson is fighting back against AI in real life. Johansson is the only celebrity who has previously sued to block the use of AI-generated content of her.

She issued a statement speaking out against the recent video over its “misuse of AI,” according to Variety.

“I am a Jewish woman who has no tolerance for antisemitism or hate speech of any kind,” Johansson said. “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.”

She continues: “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 1000-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 U.S. government is paralyzed when it comes to passing legislation that protects all of its citizens against the imminent dangers of AI.”

Johansson concludes the statement by saying: “I urge the U.S. 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.”

Despite Johansson’s valid concerns about the video, there were signs that some celebrities spoofed in the video might be supportive about it. Jerry Seinfeld’s wife Jessica Seinfeld, who is shown pointing to his shirt and smiling, liked the video on Instagram.

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