In the wake of an anti-semitic stunt by rapper Kanye West, a one-minute video response went viral on social media. The video seemed to feature several notable Jewish celebrities giving the middle finger to West, including Steven Spielberg, Jerry Seinfeld, Lenny Kravitz, Adam Sandler, and Scarlett Johansson.
There is only one problem: it was a total AI deepfake co-created by an Israeli generative AI expert named Guy Bar, who is the creator and founder of an AI tech hub called Elevaitor, according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency,
During Super Bowl LIX, West pulled a marketing stunt to sell shirts decorated with a Swatiska. While this isn’t the first time the misanthrope hip-hop producer has done something irrational and offensive, the latest fallout may be the last.
Kanye West advertised the game for some “Yeezy” swag in a few U.S. markets. Only when people got to the site it was selling Nazi clothing.
Shopify, which used to host the Yeezy store, noted, “This merchant did not engage in authentic commerce practices and violated our terms, so we removed them from Shopify.
The AI response video features over 20 actors, musicians, and personalities, and not one of them is genuine. In the video, they are wearing white T-shirts with Kanye’s first name and an outline of a middle finger ensconced with the Star of David. All are played with an adapted version of “Hava Nagila.”
F*** You, Kanye West ?
In recent days, Kanye West has once again crossed every possible red line. The man who previously declared “I am a Nazi”, praised Hitler, and spread antisemitic conspiracy theories, used one of the biggest stages in the world – a Super Bowl commercial… pic.twitter.com/n6f6TDlJN2— ori bejerano (@Oribejerano) February 11, 2025
Johansson, for one, is taking the unauthorized use of her image and likeness back from this video with authority. Variety noted her take on “the misuse of AI” with the following statement:
“I am a Jewish woman who has no tolerance for antisemitism or hate speech of any kind. But I also firmly believe that the potential for hate speech multiplied by AI is a far greater threat than any one person who takes accountability for it. We must call out the misuse of AI, no matter its messaging, or we risk losing a hold on reality,” Johansson said.
The actress has been targeted by AI scams before. In Nov. 2023, Johansson was applauded for taking legal action against “Lisa AI,” an AI app that used her name and likeness without approval to endorse the product.
Most recently, she came out against OpenAI’s blatant use of her voice. They named it “Sky,” but if you close your eyes, you’d swear you were watching the Marvel movie Black Widow.
Johansson concluded her message by challenging Congress to take action. “I urge the U.S. government to make the passing of legislation limiting AI use a top priority,” she said. “It is a bipartisan issue that enormously affects the immediate future of humanity at large.”
The Jewish Telegraphic Agency asked the video’s creator, Bar, if there was a “conscious decision to use those celebrities instead of Jewish activists?”
“It had to be [created] very, very fast. If you take time [after West’s T-shirt controversy], it wouldn’t be relevant,” said Bar. “They are the most famous Jewish [celebrities] in the world. They are very relevant to Kanye West’s world. In a perfect world, the real [people would be] doing [the video with] their voice. I wish they would share it and say, ‘We definitely agree with this video; we want to spread it all over.'”
For more information on Bar’s interview with the JTA, here is their response on Instagram.
View this post on Instagram