Elii Emeghebo Says AI Altered His Skin Tone And Facial Features
A Nigerian-Australian model is suing menswear company Peter Jackson Australia, alleging the retailer used artificial intelligence to alter his image in advertisements by lightening his skin and reshaping his facial features.
Elii Emeghebo said he first noticed the altered image years ago while walking past a Peter Jackson suit store in Sydney, Australia. What he saw, he said, looked like him — but not fully.
The model told ABC News Breakfast that the ad appeared to change key parts of his appearance.
“My nose was reshaped, my skin tone and my eye colour was significantly lightened and there’s some reshaping around my eyebrows and my eye shape to be more Eurocentric and a lot less black,” Emeghebo said.
He said the discovery was disturbing because the original shoot had been something he was proud of.
“It’s not a good thing when you go from a shoot, something you’re really proud of … and you walk past the shop and see basically you, but without your identity there,” he said. “It was really confronting and really unfair.”
Model Says His Image Was Used Beyond The Original Agreement
In the lawsuit, Emeghebo alleges that Peter Jackson Australia used his original image in a way that went beyond the terms of his contract. According to the complaint, he had only agreed for the photos to be used on the brand’s digital channels.
Emeghebo argues he should have been compensated for the altered use of his image, especially after the company allegedly used artificial intelligence to create a version of him that appeared to erase parts of his racial identity.
Peter Jackson Australia has acknowledged using AI to alter Emeghebo’s appearance in advertisements, but the company denies that race played a role in the edits.
“Any suggestion that this process was undertaken because of Mr Emeghebo’s race, colour or ethnic origin is categorically denied,” the company said in a statement. “Any suggestion that we intentionally engaged in racial discrimination is false, and we reject it unequivocally.”
AI In Advertising Raises New Questions For Models
Emeghebo filed the lawsuit with the Australian Human Rights Commission, placing the case in the middle of a growing debate over how companies use artificial intelligence to change models’ appearances, likenesses and identities.
The case also adds to broader concerns over whether brands can use AI to recreate, alter or extend a model’s image after a shoot — and whether those changes cross legal or ethical lines.
In May, Dominican model Francheska Pujols filed a lawsuit against Rainbow USA, alleging the company used AI to create sexually suggestive advertisements featuring her likeness after her contract had expired. That lawsuit was later dropped, but it drew attention to the fast-moving concerns surrounding AI-generated ads and model consent.
