Selena Gomez

Selena Gomez (born 1992) parlayed a Disney Channel childhood into three careers at once: multi-platinum pop singer, Emmy-nominated star and executive producer of Only Murders in the Building, and founder of the billion-dollar cosmetics brand Rare Beauty. For years she was the most-followed woman on Instagram — a level of digital exposure that made her an early case study in what AI does to a famous voice and face.

“Scary”

In August 2023 an AI-generated cover went viral that had Gomez “singing” Starboy — the hit by her ex-boyfriend The Weeknd. Confronted with the clone of her own voice on the creator’s Instagram post, Gomez left a one-word review: “Scary.” Weeks later, at Universal Music Group and Thrive Global’s Music & Health Conference, she laid out her position at length, telling the room the whole AI phenomenon terrifies her even as she insisted human writing cannot be replaced. Fox News grouped her with Cher among artists slamming unauthorized AI use of their voices.

The technology has also been turned on her as a weapon: in early 2025, after she posted (and deleted) a tearful video about US deportation policy, rapper Lil Pump circulated an AI-doctored image mocking her crying — a reminder that for Gomez, synthetic media is less a creative tool than a harassment vector. She has voiced no enthusiasm for AI in any of her ventures, framing creativity as something a machine can imitate but never author.