In one advertisement for budget retailer Rainbow Shops, the fashion model stood on a couch with her bare feet. In another, she sat on a bar stool, holding a film camera in one hand and a cocktail between her legs.
The only problem was Francheska Pujols, the New York-based model in the ads, said she never modeled for any of those pictures. Yes, it was her face, but everything else was either altered or generated by AI.
Pujols sued Rainbow USA, Inc. for allegedly using AI-altered images of her in its advertisements—a lawsuit she dropped a week after, records showed.
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She sued Rainbow on May 22 at the New York State Supreme Court. Although they did enter a contract in September 2024 for photo shoots, the company used her “likeness” in AI-generated pictures after the agreement expired, and even after her cease-and-desist letter.
Consequently, the lawsuit said this harmed Pujols’ reputation as a high-end model, as she suffered the “loss of control over her likeness.” It cited one of the artificially generated pictures that featured her sitting with legs spread apart. “In its crudeness, it is potentially defamatory of the Plaintiff’s reputation and image,” the lawsuit read.
However, Pujols dropped the case a week after, according to a publicly available notice of discontinuance filed on May 29. Rainbow had not responded to a request for comment as of press time.
“The case has been withdrawn while the parties seek to resolve the matter privately,” said Richard Altman, Pujols’ lawyer, in an email to the Sourcing Journal on Monday.
Digital likeness, and its real world implications, is just one face of a multi-faceted issue. AI is redefining how brands treat the real people behind the flashy ads, as the technology makes it easier to do much more with fewer people on payroll. This is not just a concern for models, according previously to Sara Ziff, founder and executive director of Model Alliance, an advocacy group. This also affects the other people who otherwise would have worked on a photoshoot, such as photographers, stylists, and makeup artists.
Regulation is trying to keep up. Under the Fashion Workers Act, which entered into force June last year, a client would need to get a written consent, which is separate from the agency contract, to either create or use a model’s digital replica.
