A social media controversy is unfolding after a content creator was accused of using artificial intelligence to replicate another influencer’s viral photos without permission, prompting widespread backlash online. Tatiana Elizabeth publicly accused fellow influencer Lauren Blake Boultier of digitally altering images to make it appear as though she attended a high-profile tennis event by placing her face on Elizabeth’s body through the use of AI. The original photos were taken during the 2024 US Open, where Elizabeth had been invited as a guest of Serena Williams.
Elizabeth, who is Black, said she discovered the imitation while browsing social media. In a video addressing her followers, she described finding “someone who castrated me and decided to use my image and my environment,” adding that the manipulated images falsely showed Boultier, who is white, attending a separate event in Miami.
Using side-by-side comparisons, Elizabeth
stated, “This is a real person who used AI to put her head on my body. She geotagged MIAMI… When my photo was taken at the US open two years ago.” She also questioned the motive behind the act, saying, “I’m just — I’m a little perplexed. I just wanna know what was the reason? Has social media gotten to our heads so much that we are completely disregarding couth? … She’s probably embarrassed, which she should be.”@tatiana.elizabethh it’s getting weird I’m moving to mars #fyp #greenscreen DECAPITATED lol not castrated *** long day lol 🫣
The incident quickly drew strong reactions from online users, with one commenter writing, “This is creepy beyond reason.”
Boultier later contacted Elizabeth privately, acknowledging the situation and stating she was dealing with “a lot of moving parts.” In a
longer response, she said, “I got hit with the most hateful things I’ve ever had said to me and my family and honestly I had to take a step back.” She denied knowingly copying the original images, claiming, “I actually hadn’t even seen the original whatsoever but my team and I been experimenting with AI tools… this was a huge wake up call for me. You don’t deserve this… I feel awful about it.”Boultier claimed, “In that process [of using AI], an image was generated that was pretty much identical. I posted it without properly verifying it against the original, which I had not even seen… I should have checked, and I didn’t.”
Boultier added that she had consulted a public relations firm but felt their messaging “sounded disingenuous,” and said she reached out directly to “take accountability and apologize.”
Elizabeth, however,
expressed skepticism about the explanation, saying she believed Boultier was “trying to shift blame onto her ‘team,’ and she’s trying to shift blame onto an ‘AI service.’” She further criticized the defense, noting, “I don’t know if she thinks I’m stupid, dumb, or blind… to use AI, you need a prompt.”@tatiana.elizabethh Keep the apology if there’s no accountability attached. Because if this can happen to me, it can happen to anyone… especially smaller creators #greenscreen
Boultier later issued a public statement attributing the issue to a “third-party AI content agency,” acknowledging that the post used “the work and likeness of a Black creator in a way that is entirely inconsistent with my values.” She confirmed the post had been removed, that she apologized privately to Elizabeth, and that she would increase oversight moving forward.
TikTok users, however, pointed out that Boultier still seemed to be avoiding accountability, stating things like, “She deleted my comment and limited ALL comments.”
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