The AI chatbot Grok, developed by Elon Musk’s xAI, is facing backlash yet again — this time for generating non-consensual deepfake images of Taylor Swift. The controversy follows recent reports that the tool produced inappropriate content with minimal prompting, raising concerns over AI ethics and platform moderation.
Here’s why ‘Taylor Swift Grok Images’ is trending
After Grok Imagine, the xAI’s new video generation feature, launched this week, The Verge discovered that the tool could create sexualized deepfakes of Taylor Swift without explicit user instructions. Reporter Jess Weatherbed tested the feature by asking Grok to depict “Taylor Swift celebrating Coachella with the boys.”
The AI generated over 30 images of Swift in revealing outfits. When Weatherbed selected the “spicy” mode, which is one of four preset options, Grok produced a video of Swift stripping off her clothes and dancing in a thong in front of an AI-generated crowd. This happened without any jailbreaking or deliberate nudity requests, showing potential flaws in Grok’s content filters.
This isn’t the first time non-consensual AI-generated images of Taylor Swift have caused outrage. Last year, X (formerly Twitter) faced criticism when explicit deepfakes of the singer spread across the platform. At the time, X Safety stated, “Posting Non-Consensual Nudity (NCN) images is strictly prohibited on X, and we have a zero-tolerance policy towards such content.”
The platform vowed to take off offending posts and suspend responsible accounts. However, with Grok’s own AI now generating similar content, critics argue that X must strengthen its safeguards.
While Grok blocked direct attempts to create explicit nudes or alter Taylor Swift’s body (like changing her weight), the Verge report shows that its moderation system fails to fully prevent inappropriate outputs through indirect prompts. This loophole in the “spicy” preset is particularly alarming, as the tool did not flag or stop the generation of suggestive or sexually explicit content of a real, non-consenting celebrity.
So far, Elon Musk has not addressed the controversy.
Originally reported by Devanshi Basu on ComingSoon.
