by Mary Spiller
April 4, 2026
The unique creator, Tatiana Elizabeth, known as out Lauren Blake Boultier’s ‘creepy’ misuse of her picture.
A social media controversy is unfolding after a content material creator was accused of utilizing synthetic intelligence to copy one other influencer’s viral pictures with out permission, prompting widespread backlash on-line. Tatiana Elizabeth publicly accused fellow influencer Lauren Blake Boultier of digitally altering photos to make it seem as if she attended a high-profile tennis occasion by inserting her face on Elizabeth’s physique by way of using AI. The unique pictures had been taken throughout the 2024 US Open, the place Elizabeth had been invited as a visitor of Serena Williams.
Elizabeth, who’s Black, mentioned she found the imitation whereas searching social media. In a video addressing her followers, she described discovering “somebody who castrated me and determined to make use of my picture and my setting,” including that the manipulated photos falsely confirmed Boultier, who’s white, attending a separate occasion in Miami.
Utilizing side-by-side comparisons, Elizabeth said, “This can be a actual one who used AI to place her head on my physique. She geotagged MIAMI… When my photograph was taken on the US open two years in the past.” She additionally questioned the motive behind the act, saying, “I’m simply — I’m just a little perplexed. I simply wanna know what was the rationale? Has social media gotten to our heads a lot that we’re utterly disregarding couth? … She’s most likely embarrassed, which she ought to be.”
@tatiana.elizabethh
it’s getting bizarre I’m shifting to mars #fyp #greenscreen DECAPITATED lol not castrated *** lengthy day lol 🫣
♬ authentic sound – Whitney Leavitt
The incident rapidly drew robust reactions from on-line customers, with one commenter writing, “That is creepy past purpose.”
Boultier later contacted Elizabeth privately, acknowledging the scenario and stating she was coping with “loads of shifting components.” In an extended response, she mentioned, “I acquired hit with essentially the most hateful issues I’ve ever had mentioned to me and my household and truthfully I needed to take a step again.” She denied knowingly copying the unique photos, claiming, “I really hadn’t even seen the unique in any way however my crew and I been experimenting with AI instruments… this was an enormous get up name for me. You don’t deserve this… I really feel terrible about it.”
Boultier claimed, “In that course of [of using AI], a picture was generated that was just about an identical. I posted it with out correctly verifying it in opposition to the unique, which I had not even seen… I ought to have checked, and I didn’t.”
Boultier added that she had consulted a public relations agency however felt their messaging “sounded disingenuous,” and mentioned she reached out on to “take accountability and apologize.”
Elizabeth, nonetheless, expressed skepticism concerning the clarification, saying she believed Boultier was “attempting to shift blame onto her ‘crew,’ and he or she’s attempting to shift blame onto an ‘AI service.’” She additional criticized the protection, noting, “I don’t know if she thinks I’m silly, dumb, or blind… to make use of AI, you want a immediate.”
@tatiana.elizabethh
Preserve the apology if there’s no accountability connected. As a result of if this could occur to me, it might occur to anybody… particularly smaller creators #greenscreen
♬ authentic sound – Tatiana Elizabeth
Boultier later issued a public assertion attributing the problem to a “third-party AI content material company,” acknowledging that the put up used “the work and likeness of a Black creator in a method that’s fully inconsistent with my values.” She confirmed the put up had been eliminated, that she apologized privately to Elizabeth, and that she would enhance oversight shifting ahead.
TikTok customers, nonetheless, identified that Boultier nonetheless appeared to be avoiding accountability, stating issues like, “She deleted my remark and restricted ALL feedback.”
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