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Between the Oscars slap heard around the world, falling off the Hollywood radar as a result and some relationship woes, it’s fair to say that it’s been a rough few years for Will Smith and his cultural relevancy.
Things didn’t look up this year, with the March release of his first studio album in 20 years, ‘Based On A True Story’. It failed to chart in any major territory – a first for Smith – and as for the songs themselves, their swagger was unconvincing and the lyrical platitudes came off a self-indulgent.
Don’t believe us? It’s currently the worst reviewed album of the year on AOTY, ranking lower than Maroon 5’s latest and the godawful Drake and PartyNextDoor collab album ‘$ome $sexy $ongs 4 U’. Ooof.
It seems like 2025 just isn’t the rapper-actor’s year, as the No Longer Fresh Prince of Bel-Air is now at the centre of much online ridicule over some AI generated images of his ongoing tour.
Smith kicked off the UK leg in Scarborough on Sunday and ahead of the concerts, a video was shared from his official YouTube channel and on Instagram, titled: “My favourite part of tour is seeing you all up close. Thank you for seeing me too.”
The clip has been gaining attention for all the wrong reasons, as many are claiming it makes heavy use of AI – specifically faked footage of his fans and their homemade signs.
Faces appear blurred or melting. Body parts are impossibly distorted. Some hands have six fingers.
No judgement or shade to anyone with polydactyly, but it all looks a bit weird.
Check out some of the images of what many have branded “fake AI crowds”:
Focus on that left corner… Everywhere really.
Unsettling, right?
The internet is having a field day over it, with Smith being accused of falsifying the crowds and by extension the hype surrounding his comeback tour.
“Imagine being this rich and famous and having to use AI footage of crowds… Tragic, man,” commented someone online, while another wrote below his video: “So not only is this an abomination to look at because it’s low quality phone footage that’s been heavily AI upscaled, but there’s also in-between scenes that are clearly AI-generated.”
“What kind of sheeple do you think we are bro?” added another. “You can’t be this ignorant bruh c’mon it’s embarrassing.”
It’s not a great look, especially because it comes at a time when the use of AI is incredibly controversial in the music industry. A recent study estimated that without intervention from policymakers, people working in music are likely to lose more than 20 per cent of their income to AI over the next four years. Deezer also reported that roughly 10,000 AI-generated tracks are submitted to the platform on a daily basis, while AI developers in the music industry are set to gain €4bn – up from €0.1bn in 2023.
These figures come from the first global economic study examining the impact of AI on human creativity, courtesy of the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC).
Many artists are struggling to find fair remuneration in this new digital ecosystem, and have been speaking out against the existential threat AI poses.
From Nick Cave to Paul McCartney, via Elton John, Radiohead, Dua Lipa, Kate Bush and Robbie Williams – all have called on the UK government to change copyright laws amid the threat of AI.
And the less said about ear-assaulting slop like the AI-generated Spotify “Verified Artist” The Velvet Sundown, the better.
Will Smith’s UK tour continues tonight in Cardiff, before shows in Manchester, London and Wolverhampton. He heads to Paris next month. Tickets are still available – despite the seemingly packed crowds in videos.
