A social media controversy is gaining traction after influencer Lauren Blake Boultier was caught using AI to place her face over Black model and influencer Tatiana Elizabeth’s body in a photo originally taken at the 2024 U.S. Open.
Elizabeth said she discovered the altered image while scrolling, describing it as someone who “used AI to put her head on my body” and falsely positioned herself in a moment Elizabeth actually experienced.
“This is a real person,” Elizabeth said in a video response. “She geotagged Miami… when my photo was taken at the U.S. Open,” she added, pointing out how closely the images matched.
The similarities were hard to miss — same outfit, same pose, same background — prompting Elizabeth to question how something like this happens in the first place.“I’m just a little perplexed,” she said. “What was the reason? Has social media gotten to our heads so much that we are completely disregarding couth?”
The situation escalated after Boultier reached out privately. According to screenshots shared by Elizabeth, Boultier initially sent a message saying the situation would be addressed, noting she was dealing with “a lot of moving parts.” In a longer follow-up message, she attributed the post to experimentation with AI tools and said she “hadn’t even seen the original whatsoever,” calling the situation “a huge wake-up call.”
But Elizabeth said the explanation didn’t sit right with her. “She’s trying to shift blame onto her ‘team,’ and she’s trying to shift blame onto an ‘AI service,’” she said. “I don’t know if she thinks I’m stupid, dumb, or blind.”
Elizabeth also pushed back on the idea that AI removes accountability. “To use AI, you need a prompt,” she said, emphasizing that the process still requires intent.
The moment, she added, felt bigger than just one post. “As a Black woman, I have had to work so hard to be in some of the rooms that I’ve been in,” Elizabeth said, explaining why seeing her image repurposed in that way hit differently.
Boultier later removed the post and issued a public apology, saying the image came from a third-party AI content system and that using another creator’s likeness was “entirely inconsistent” with her values.
Still, the backlash has continued — with many online calling the situation unsettling and raising broader concerns about how AI tools can be used to replicate someone’s image, presence, and experience without consent.
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