Tom Brady Threatens to Sue Comedians Who Impersonated Him in AI Comedy Special
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Comedians Will Sasso and Chad Kultgen created an hour-long comedy special featuring an AI version of the NFL superstar
Tom Brady wasn't laughing during this comedy special.
According to comedians Will Sasso and Chad Kultgen of the Dudesy podcast, the retired NFL star's company TB12 sent a cease and desist letter after an hour-long animated comedy special showing an AI imagination of the athlete was uploaded to their Patreon.
The viral comedy special, which the guys titled "It's Too Easy: A Simulated Hour-Long Comedy Special," showed an animated version of Brady, 45, telling jokes to an audience.
According to the New York Post, the simulated monologue delivered by an AI-Brady featured jokes about the athlete using dating apps following his divorce from Gisele Bündchen.
"Anybody on the apps right now? I'm recently single and thinking about getting on them, but here's the problem. I've never been on them, I don't really know what I'm doing. Someone sent me a message on Bumble. She said, 'You look just like Tom Brady,' and I said, 'I am Tom Brady,' she said, 'Prove it,' so I went to her house and let a little air out of all of her footballs," the simulation of Brady said in the video.
CBS News reported that the cease and desist letter claims that Dudesy's video "used Brady's name and likeness" to "promote" their own podcast, but Sasso argued that they "very clearly" titled the video to reflect that it's a "simulated" version of Brady.
The quarterback's lawyers also threatened to pursue a lawsuit if Sasso and Kultgen didn't meet additional requirements stated in the letter. One of those requirements prohibits the men from using Brady's name or likeness on their show in the future, which the hosts said they are "happy to comply" with during the podcast.
Representatives for Brady declined to comment to PEOPLE.
Sasso and Kultgen pointed out during their review of the legal document that Brady's attorneys said the special features "an hour-long monologue delivered in Mr. Brady's voice."
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Kultgen clarified that the monologue is "not delivered" in Brady's voice, but rather delivered in an "AI approximation" of the athlete's voice.
"We're not making this seem as though it's Tom Brady," Kultgen said. He went on to explain, "Simulated literally means not the real thing."
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In response to the letter, the comedians took down the video from their Patreon and all content channels.
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The comedians said they created the special using "data from astonishing interviews" with Brady and "hundreds of thousands of hours of stand-up comedy" footage.
Despite the legal hiccup with Brady, Sasso and Kultgen plan to release more AI-generated content of public figures in the future.
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