Will Smith’s “AI Doppelgänger” Fiasco: Genius Marketing or Digital Disaster Ahead?
Added on August 26, 2025 inMusic News Cards
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So, Will Smith is back on the UK stage, rocking nearly 8,000 fans at Scarborough and gearing up for shows in Manchester, London, and Wolverhampton — pretty solid for an album that didn’t even crack the charts here. Yet, while the ‘Fresh Prince’ is killin’ it on tour, a promotional video has sparked a bit of chaos online. Fans are squinting at the screen, wondering if they’re witnessing a legit crowd—or some AI-generated extras sneaking into the frame. I mean, is this the universe’s way of throwing a curveball under Mercury’s watchful eye? When the stars are all about communication and tech hiccups, maybe using AI in a promo vid isn’t the smoothest move. Could Will’s team have been a little ahead of the curve, or just caught in a cosmic glitch? Either way, the internet’s buzzing, and people aren’t exactly thrilled about this digital doppelgänger dilemma. LEARN MORE
Will Smith has been criticised after a promotional video for his new tour looked to have used AI.
The ‘Fresh Prince’ is currently on the UK leg of his tour having played at Cardiff on Monday night, and it’s fair to say that it’s going quite well.
Smith played in front of near 8,000 at Scarborough Open Air Theatre on Sunday night (24 August), and is set to play in Manchester, London and even Wolverhampton in the next seven days as part of his ‘Based On a True Story’ tour.
Some might say that the turnout was unexpected, given that the album of the same name didn’t even chart on this side of the pond.
While things are going well on the stage for the ‘Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It’ rapper following the release of his first studio album in 20 years, people on social media have not taken too well to his latest promo stunt.
Smith has been accused of using AI in a promotional tour video (Instagram/Will Smith)
Some of the crowd looked a little interesting (Instagram/@willsmith)
The 56-year-old has come under fire after releasing a video of him performing at previous shows on his tour, with cutaways to fans cheering, singing along, and holding up signs.
But in a promotional video uploaded to Instagram, fans and viewers spotted something odd.
A number of users pointed out that AI may have been used to add some shots of fans cheering the actor and rapper on, with a couple of moments standing out.
One shot shows fans with blurred faces, while another sees Smith running through fans’ outstretched arms, almost like they’re not there.
Another shows an emotional man holding up a sign that read ‘You Can Make It helped me survive cancer. THX WILL’, confusing fans, who thought this was another sign of AI use.
Many users took to the comments to share what they thought of the stunt, which may be the first time the artist has willingly involved himself with AI.
Fans think this moment is a giveaway of Smith’s use of AI (Instagram/Will Smith)
Some of the faces in the crowd seemed AI-generated (Instagram/@willsmith)
While the comments have since been turned off on the post, many managed to get a word in early on.
One noted that ‘half the footage is AI’, while another said that the alleged use of AI was ‘horrible’.
“An AI crowd being posted on the official page is mad embarrassing,” another wrote.
Other fans pointed out that the tour had been going well, making them question why his team seemingly felt the need to use AI to generate fake fans for parts of the video.
LADbible has contacted Will Smith’s representatives for comment.
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