Not a week goes by without one Taylor Swift headline or another taking over the front page of the news, but this recent controversy is simply disturbing, if not downright criminal.
The popular singer, recently off a bout of breaking industry records and turning her Eras Tour into the highest-grossing concert in history, has enjoyed a relative period of respite from preparing for the European leg of the bejeweling 3-hour performance in 2024. She has been taking some well-deserved rest by spending time in the romantic refrain of her new beau Travis Kelce, whether it be in the form of the cheering crowd in the latest Kansas City Chiefs game or the glamorous birthday parties that feature members of the star-studded Taylor Squad.
One begins to wonder, what could possibly go wrong? Well, the internet, for one thing.
Taylor Swift is apparently, and rather unsettlingly, the latest victim of deepfake sexual harassment. Many fans were appalled to find their favorite musician trending on X (formerly Twitter) because of a series of graphic, sexually explicit, AI-generated photos that showed her in a number of very distasteful scenarios.
The legions of Swifties quickly rose to the occasion and began a meticulous campaign on the social media platform, reporting pages that posted the AI images and taking over the feed with #ProtectTaylorSwift. That seems to have dulled the brunt edge of the controversy so far, but has Taylor herself commented on the matter?
What was Taylor Swift’s response to the explicit AI photos?
Taylor Swift or her representatives have yet to release a statement, but knowing the singer and her tendency to interact with her fans on social media, it’s safe to assume that she’s already well aware of the disturbing statement and thinking of the best way to respond to it. You know, like the “Mastermind” that she is.
It’s worth noting that Taylor is hardly the first person to have to deal with this over the past couple of years. Celebrity deepfakes have been steadily on the rise for a while, and with the surge of general-purpose AI models like ChatGPT or image generators like Dall-E and Midjourney, it was only a matter of time before the myriad of ethical and legal dilemmas caught up to us.
That being said, this is definitely the first time we’ve seen such a forceful, explosive response to the issue. Taylor has been taking names and kicking butt across the music industry and even cinema lately, mostly using her influence to bring about positive changes, so it’s already making us wonder if AI is going to be the next item on the list. Heaven knows, the world needs it.