Tom Brady is not happy that the comic special was created using his likeness of an AI without his permission.
Comedians Will Sasso and Chad Koltgen revealed on their podcast, “Dudesy,” that Brady’s attorneys sent them a cease and desist letter after watching an hour-long video in which he used an AI-generated image of the former NFL player on his stand-up comedy show.
in the suit, Brady lawyers demanded Sasso and Colgen “immediately remove the aforementioned use of Mr. Brady’s name, image, voice, persona, and any other unauthorized uses…” The suit also alleges that the duo “misappropriated Mr. Brady’s name, voice, persona, and likeness to advertise and promote the Dudesy podcast and Patreon page.” Other charges include presenting Brady in a “false light”, potential defamation and copyright infringement.
Sasso and Kultgen broke out the rest of the suit in a YouTube episode earlier this week. They said they removed the video but noted that it was just an impersonation of Brady and that the video clearly said it was a “simulated” version of what would happen if Brady did a stand-up act of comedy.
“It’s just like what you might see if you watch any comedy special or stand-up special where they impersonate people,” Költgen said in a YouTube video. “I don’t think we’re in any way introducing Mr. Brady at all. It’s simply a parody of the idea of Tom Brady doing stand-up.”
Brady retired from the NFL in February after 23 seasons in the league. He’s set to become a lead broadcast analyst for Fox Sports in the future.
Artificial intelligence lawsuits rise
Lawsuits involving AI-generated videos and images are beginning to emerge more and more as AI becomes more accessible and popular. So far, most of them involve violating copyright law when AI tools create content using art taken from the internet without the permission of the artist.
But in Brady’s case, the lawsuit could have involved the illegal use of an artificial intelligence likeness of a celebrity.
Claims of resemblance to celebrities were not uncommon Even before the advent of artificial intelligence. Singer Bette Midler sued Ford Motor Company in 1988 for illegal use of her singing voice after the automaker hired someone to sing as Midler in a commercial. NBA star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar He sued General Motors in 1996 after the company compared one of its cars to his former name, Lou Alcindor. Actors Georg Wendt and John Ratzenberger, who played Norm and Cliff in the TV show “Cheers” Host International sued after the company built two bots that looked like them at airports.
The Brady incident seemed to be over after the video was removed, but it did lead to more trouble down the road.
