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Chinese actress Viann Zhang (real name Zhang Xinyu) has had enough – and rightfully so.
On the evening of April 18, Zhang took to social media to call out a shocking AI scam that’s been doing the rounds online, where her voice was cloned without permission and used in fake adverts.
And to make things worse, the ads were peddling dodgy slimming pills she’s never even touched.
“I recently discovered that a brand had used AI to replicate my voice for some unauthorised, heavily edited advertising videos – including ones for weight loss pills,” she wrote.
“It’s appalling behaviour.”
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| Actress Viann Zhang Slams AI Voice Scam - Weibo |
Zhang Xinyu didn’t hold back.
She firmly stated that she has never endorsed or promoted any slimming products and stressed that these manipulated clips were completely fake.
“Some sellers are illegally editing and distributing these adverts using AI tech – I will absolutely pursue this to the end,” she added.
In the comments section, many fans chimed in to say they’d also stumbled upon similar videos and had nearly been duped.
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“If you don’t look closely, it really looks like her,” one netizen said.
Viann Zhang, born in Jiangsu Province in 1987, first stepped into the spotlight in 2009 with her debut drama Youth Forward.
Since then, she’s made waves in films and series like If You Are the One 2, The Return of the Condor Heroes, and The Investiture of the Gods.
Zhang’s not just protecting her own image – she’s also warning others about the dangers of misusing AI in advertising.
She's vowed to defend her name legally and make sure this kind of fraud doesn't go unchecked.
So if you happen to see Viann Zhang ‘selling’ weight loss supplements online – don’t believe the hype. It’s not her. It’s just some AI fakery trying to cash in on a familiar face and voice.