A viral AI-generated video made it appear that Hollywood had turned against Kanye West, showcasing A-list stars banding together to protest the rapper after his recent antisemitic remarks.
The video shows AI-generated versions of Jewish celebrities like David Schwimmer, Drake, Steven Spielberg, Adam Sandler, Jerry Seinfeld, Sacha Baron Cohen, Scarlett Johansson, Mark Zuckerberg, Mila Kunis and more wearing anti-Kanye T-shirts featuring a hamsa with a raised middle finger and a Star of David in the middle, with the word “Kanye” written below it.
At the end of the video, words appear on the screen, reading, “Enough is Enough. Join the Fight Against Antisemitism.”
The AI video comes after West’s Yeezy.com had been removed from Shopify after it featured a single product: white T-shirts with a black swastika in the centre, under the product name HH-01.
In a statement to Global News, a Shopify spokesperson said, “All merchants are responsible for following the rules of our platform. This merchant did not engage in authentic commerce practices and violated our terms so we removed them from Shopify.”
Johansson released a statement to People after becoming aware of the deepfake video, saying, “It has been brought to my attention by family members and friends, that an A.I.-generated video featuring my likeness, in response to an antisemitic 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,” she continued. “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 have unfortunately been a very public victim of A.I.,” she said, “but the truth is that the threat of A.I. affects each and every one of us.”
“There is a 1000-foot wave coming regarding A.I. 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 A.I.”
“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,” she concluded.
Johansson’s statement did not mention West, but other celebrities featured in the deepfake video have spoken out about the rapper’s behaviour in the last week.
In recent days, West has been using his X account to share his controversial and antisemitic thoughts, including identifying as a Nazi and claiming to “love Hitler.” On Feb. 9, it appeared that West had deactivated his X account.
Schwimmer took to Instagram to call on Elon Musk, who owns the X social media platform, to remove West’s account after his recent posts.
“We can’t stop a deranged bigot from spewing hate-filled, ignorant bile…but we CAN stop giving him a megaphone, Mr. Musk. Kanye West has 32.7 million followers on your platform, X. That’s twice as many people than the number of Jews in existence. His sick hate speech results in REAL LIFE violence against Jews,” he wrote.
“I don’t know what’s worse, the fact that he identifies as a Nazi (which implies he wants to exterminate ALL marginalized communities including his own) or the fact that there is not sufficient OUTRAGE to remove and ban him from all social media at this point,” Schwimmer wrote, adding, “Silence is complicity.”
Isla Fisher, whose likeness is also featured in the AI-generated video, previously wrote on Instagram in regards to West’s T-shirt: “Hey friends, can you please unfollow Kanye? Did you know this is the only thing for sale on his website after placing a Super Bowl commercial? F–k this monster forever. No Tolerance for this s–t.”
On Tuesday, West was dropped by his talent agency 33&West following his antisemitic rants on X.
Daniel McCartney, the rapper’s former music agent, announced that West had been removed from the agency’s roster of clients as of Feb. 10.
In an Instagram Stories post, McCartney wrote: “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.”
“Peace and love to all,” McCartney added.
The Anti-Defamation League also released a statement in regards to West’s recent posts and his website, writing, “As if we needed further proof of Kanye’s antisemitism, he chose to put a single item for sale on his website – a t-shirt emblazoned with a swastika.”
“The swastika is the symbol adopted by Hitler as the primary emblem of the Nazis. It galvanized his followers in the 20th century and continues to threaten and instill fear in those targeted by antisemitism and white supremacy,” the post continued.
“If that wasn’t enough, the t-shirt is labeled on Kanye’s website as ‘HH-01,’ which is code for ‘Heil Hitler.’
“Kanye was tweeting vile antisemitism nonstop since last week. There’s no excuse for this kind of behavior. Even worse, Kanye advertised his website during the Super Bowl, amplifying it beyond his already massive social media audience.”
West has not commented on the AI-generated video as of this writing.