Scarlett Johansson calls for deepfake ban after viral AI video

Scarlett Johansson is taking the federal government to task over AI deepfakes, and this time, the stakes go far beyond a soundalike chatbot voice.

After a viral deepfake video dragged her and several other Jewish celebrities into an antisemitic online stunt, the actress issued a sharp rebuke to lawmakers, calling the lack of action on AI safety terrifying.

A viral fake with real-world malice

The video circulating online features AI-generated versions of Johansson alongside stars like Jerry Seinfeld, Mila Kunis, Jack Black, Drake, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Adam Sandler.

In the clip, the celebrities are depicted wearing t-shirts bearing Kanye's name alongside an image of a middle finger with the Star of David in the center. The clip surfaced shortly after Ye returned to X to post antisemitic comments and briefly sold shirts featuring a swastika on his website.

Johansson did not hold back in her statement to People, noting that while she has zero tolerance for hate speech, the potential for hate speech multiplied by AI poses a far greater threat than any single individual. She urged lawmakers to make comprehensive AI legislation a top priority.

A recurring target in an unregulated wild west

Johansson has become one of the tech industry's most vocal watchdogs. Back in 2023, she sued an AI app developer for using her likeness in an ad.

Last year, she famously forced OpenAI to bench its Sky voice in ChatGPT after pointing out that it sounded eerily identical to her own.

Yet the legal machinery to deal with these incidents remains virtually nonexistent. While Congress introduced a bill targeting sexually explicit deepfakes last year, broader guardrails have stalled out completely.

In fact, protections are moving backward. California Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed a major state AI safety bill in September 2024. President Donald Trump quickly rolled back Joe Biden's executive order on AI safety standards upon taking office. To top it off, both the US and UK declined this week to sign an international declaration promoting the ethical use of AI.

Why it matters

If an A-list movie star with top-tier legal representation has to resort to public shaming every time her identity is hijacked, everyday internet users stand zero chance.

We think Johansson's intervention exposes the widening gulf between technical capability and political reality. While generative video models churn out convincing, photorealistic fakes in seconds, Washington has largely chosen deregulation in the name of national competitiveness, leaving identity protection entirely unaddressed.

Treating deepfake abuse solely as a copyright infringement or an explicit content problem is no longer working. Malicious actors are weaponizing generative media for political smears and cultural division, and without enforceable watermarking or strict liability laws for generation platforms, the cost of manufacturing chaos will remain essentially zero.