Michael Jackson Estate Issues Takedown Demand Over AI Deepfakes Made With OpenAI’s Sora

Since the launch of OpenAI’s Sora, social media has been flooded with hyper-realistic deepfake videos of Michael Jackson, some mimicking his voice, appearance, and signature moves with eerie precision. In response, the late pop icon’s estate has reportedly filed a takedown demand to OpenAI, accusing the company of allowing unauthorized use of Jackson’s likeness and image. The estate claims these synthetic creations infringe on rights it holds and mislead fans into believing the content is authentic.
The surge of AI-generated Jackson videos (many allegedly produced using Sora) has reignited concerns about the growing realism and reach of deepfakes. While OpenAI and Google have both implemented safeguards such as metadata disclaimers and watermarking tools like Google’s SynthID, these protections often vanish once videos are re-encoded or shared across platforms. The result is a wave of AI-generated clips that circulate online with no clear indication they’re fabricated.
OpenAI’s policies currently ban deepfakes of living celebrities without consent, but the same restriction does not apply to deceased public figures. This loophole leaves icons like Michael Jackson in a legal and ethical gray area. As AI tools become more accessible and sophisticated, the estate’s takedown challenge could set a major precedent, testing how the rights of artists, even posthumously, will be protected in the age of synthetic media.









