Blackburn says AI Kendrick Lamar video was ‘fun’ as legal questions mount

Tennessee Republican gubernatorial candidate Marsha Blackburn said her campaign reposted an AI-generated video that placed her in a Kendrick Lamar-inspired Super Bowl performance because it was “fun,” responding to criticism that the clip had prompted online and legal scrutiny. Speaking after a Memphis Safe Task Force roundtable in Shelby County on Oct. 16, Blackburn said a county commissioner had created and posted the video before her campaign shared it. “There would never be any action that was intended to offend,” she said. She did not apologize when questioned about the post. The video was posted on Oct. 13, the day before early voting began in Tennessee. Its caption read, “Tomorrow. Ready to roll.” It appeared to use AI to depict Blackburn alongside Republican officials Tim Burchett, Bill Hagerty, Brent Taylor and Glenn Jacobs, also known as Kane, lip-syncing to Lamar’s “Not Like Us” and recreating choreography from his 2025 Super Bowl LIX halftime show. The post drew criticism in its replies, with some commenters calling it “AI slop” and urging Blackburn to remove it. Blackburn’s Democratic opponent, Jerri Green, wrote on X that the episode showed why campaigns should stop using AI in support of campaigns. The post generated more than 5,000 likes and comments across Instagram and Facebook. The clip also raised questions under two Tennessee laws. The Transparency for Deepfakes in Political Advertising Act covers political advertisements that portray candidates doing or saying things they did not actually do without a required disclosure, though the law does not prohibit political AI content outright. Tennessee’s ELVIS Act, signed in 2024, protects musicians’ voices and likenesses from unauthorized AI use. Entertainment attorney Kaley Bonett said Lamar’s identifiable voice and choreography associated with his performance could create concerns under the law. Whether it applies would depend in part on permissions or clearance for the music, image and likeness, she said; the statute concerns commercial use that benefits from another person’s name, voice or likeness without authorization. The controversy sits uneasily with Blackburn’s previous advocacy for protections against unauthorized AI deepfakes. She has argued for states’ ability to enact AI laws, including the ELVIS Act, and joined Sens. Amy Klobuchar, Thom Tillis and Chris Coons in introducing the federal No Fakes Act to protect voices and visual likenesses. Lamar had not publicly reacted, and his representatives had not issued a statement, as of The Hill’s Oct. 14 report.