Amazon creates an AI series based on Loryn Brantz's character without her consent

Amazon is planning to launch a TV series about the character "Good Advice Cupcake" based on AI animation. The problem is that the original creator of the character, Loryn Brantz, did not give consent for its use and expressed her dissatisfaction with this decision.

The Story of a Character That Her Creator Left

Loryn Brantz created "Good Advice Cupcake" for BuzzFeed several years ago. It was a funny and cute character — a cupcake with eyes that gave advice in a simple and accessible way. Its style stood out: simple, positive advice that resonated with a young audience.

The character became popular among fans and became the publication's signature. Brantz invested her creative work, her vision, and her sense of humor into it. However, there is one big "but": BuzzFeed always owned the rights to the character and its intellectual property.

This is a typical situation in media companies — a content creator works as an employee, and all rights to their work transfer to the publisher. Brantz agreed to these conditions back then, but she did not anticipate that the character would ever be used in completely new projects without her knowledge.

How Amazon Acquired the Character

Amazon licensed the character and all its copyrights from BuzzFeed to create a new TV project. This was a business decision between two large companies. BuzzFeed received money for the license, Amazon got a ready-made character with an audience.

The company decided to invest in developing this content and expand it to the television market. Instead of traditional animation, which requires large teams of artists and animators, Amazon decided to use AI tools to create the series. This is a more economical and faster way to produce content.

Why hire dozens of people for two years if AI can create an animated series in a few months? The logic from a business perspective is clear. The logic from the perspective of creativity and artistic dignity is quite different.

How the Creator Found Out About Her Character

Loryn Brantz found out about the new TV project around the same time as the rest of the world — through Amazon's official announcements. She, as the original creator, was not even informed before its release. On platform X, she expressed her outrage:

• The character was created by her personally, embodying her talent
• She learned about the project as an ordinary member of the public, not as the creator
• AI animation was used without her consent regarding the creation method
• Her voice as an author was not heard during the development process
• Her artistic dignity and her right to recognition were violated

Brantz's Position and the Question of Copyright

Loryn Brantz expressed sharp protest against Amazon's decision. Her outrage concerns not only the use of the character without her consent, but also the very application of AI animation for the project. She believes this violates artistic dignity and does not account for either her labor or her vision for the character.

"My character is being used without my consent, and I found out about it from the internet.

This is humiliating and wrong."

Brantz emphasized that if a company wants to use someone else's original character, it should at least notify the creator and hear their opinion.

What This Means for Authors in the AI Era

This conflict raises an acute question about copyright protection in the age of AI. Legally, BuzzFeed has the right to use the character however it wants because it is their property. But ethically, the original creator should be respected and heard. When a company owns the rights, it can use them as it wishes, but that does not mean the author's contribution should be completely ignored. The situation shows that the industry needs new approaches: fairer contracts that protect the creator's right to participate in the fate of their character.