An AI image of Mia Goth sparks Instagram fan account controversy

AI-generated images can now give celebrities entire social media moments they never took part in.

For Mia Goth, that meant a supposed response to her divorce — right down to a T-shirt and breakup soundtrack.

After news of the Pearl and MaXXXine actress's divorce filing from Shia LaBeouf a few weeks ago, an Instagram post appeared to show Goth wearing a shirt that read "MY EX IS MY BIGGEST FAN." Paired with Beyoncé’s "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)," it was easy to read as a comment on the split.

Except Goth’s representative says the image was AI-generated.

And Goth doesn’t even use social media.

The post came from @miagoth_ , a verified fan account with more than a million followers.

Despite the fan-page label, People initially wrote about the image as a selfie Goth had posted herself, describing the shirt as her fashion choice days after filing for divorce. (The article and post have both been removed.) SEE ALSO: Taylor Swift's wedding photos are going viral.

There's just one problem.

That confusion is exactly what the actress's team says it has been trying to stop.

"Mia Goth does not have ownership of, nor does she engage in social media on any platform," her representative, Christine Tripicchio, told The Verge .

"We have filed multiple complaints with Instagram to remove the verified fan account which continues to post counterfeit, AI images of Mia Goth." Tripicchio also questioned how the account had qualified for a verification badge in the first place.

"The fact that this fan account meets Instagram’s criteria to qualify for a 'blue check' is disconcerting on a fundamental level," she said.

"Beyond that, it is incomprehensible that Instagram evidently prioritizes the dissemination of forged and manipulated images over the protection and integrity of a public figure’s likeness." In response, Meta told Mashable, "This account has been removed for impersonating a public figure." "We must call out the misuse of AI" Goth’s team isn’t alone in trying to correct a public moment that never happened.

A March investigation by Indicator identified six AI-generated influencer accounts with roughly a million Instagram followers combined that posted fabricated celebrity encounters.