By now you’ve seen the plethora of Michael Jackson deepfake videos flooding social media. The deepfakes were created using Google Gemini’s Nano Banana and OpenAI’s Sora 2.
Over the weekend, X (Twitter) users uploaded videos of Michael “interacting” with Prince, Tupac Shakur, Kobe Bryant, Martin Luther King Jr., Notorious B.I.G., Fidel Castro, and more.
OpenAI’s Sora 2 has banned creating deepfake videos of living celebrities, but dead celebrities and public figures are fair game.
In AI videos shared on X, Michael poses with Prince for a selfie and makes the argument that his funeral was larger than Prince’s.
“Look, I’m just saying, more people showed up to mine. There were helicopters, the streets were blocked off,” Michael says.
Ai is really getting outta hand they got Michael Jackson out here liking up with Kobe Bryant, Tupac, Prince & Amy Winehouse. ??? pic.twitter.com/zW1QkVsvLq
— FBA Final Boss (@Swinemybrutha1) October 3, 2025
AI is really getting out of hand—they’ve got Tupac Shakur linking up with Kobe Bryant, Michael Jackson, Biggie, Bruce Lee, Elvis & Fidel Castro. ??? pic.twitter.com/gsxh07Q9hJ
— Rain Drops Media (@Raindropsmedia1) October 3, 2025
Fans expressed their concern on X. One person wrote: “Something about this feels strange to me. I’d feel weird about random people making AI videos of me after my death, portraying me a certain way. But maybe that’s just me.”
They gotta ban Ai no way I just saw a video of Tupac Michael Jackson and MLK doing a mukbang.
— NIXON (@Nixvn) October 3, 2025
Michael’s estate reportedly sent a take-down demand to OpenAI for copying Michael’s likeness without authorization.
Google and OpenAI have taken precautions. Nano Banana images are tagged with SynthID watermarks, while Sora 2 videos feature metadata disclaimers.
However, the watermarks and disclaimers aren’t visible in the hundreds of AI videos featuring Michael Jackson circulating on social media.
OpenAI goes a step further by banning videos of living celebrities, while dead celebrities are allowed.
“We don’t have a comment to add, but we do allow the generation of historical figures,” OpenAI tells PCMag.
