Scarlett Johansson has condemned antisemitism and called for legislation to protect the public from artificial intelligence after a deepfake video of her and other celebrities was widely circulated on social media. The fake video showed an image of Johansson in a T-shirt with a hand and middle finger extended, a Jewish star, and Kanye West’s name.
Johansson stated that she is a Jewish woman who has no tolerance for antisemitism or hate speech. She believes that the potential for hate speech multiplied by AI is a greater threat than any individual who takes accountability for it. Johansson urged the U.S government to make passing legislation limiting AI use a top priority, stating that it is a bipartisan issue that affects humanity’s immediate future.
The fake video was created by Ori Bejerano, a generative AI expert, and included AI-generated imagery of other celebrities set to “Hava Nagila.” Johansson has been vocal about her concerns over AI misuse and previously spoke out against OpenAI for using a synthetic voice similar to hers in ChatGPT. She is now calling on elected officials to take action against AI abuses.
Other celebrities have also spoken out against West’s hate speech, with David Schwimmer pleading with Elon Musk to block him from X before his Super Bowl ad aired. Hen Mazzig, co-founder of the Tel Aviv Institute, warned that unchecked antisemitic hate being platformed on social media is more dangerous than AI misuse.
Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2025/02/12/entertainment/scarlett-johansson-ai-video-kanye-west/index.html