SAG-AFTRA, short for the Screen Actors Guild–American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, has joined the long list of critics against AI-generated actress Tilly Norwood. The AI-generated creation, recently unveiled amid increasing backlash from the entertainment industry, was created by Eline Van der Velden from the AI production studio Particle6. Several actors, including Melissa Barrera, Whoopi Goldberg, and Emily Blunt, have been quick to criticize the AI-generated actress, and SAG-AFTRA recently joined in on the criticism. On September 30, 2025, the guild took to its official Instagram page to issue a statement addressing Tilly Norwood, opposing "the replacement of human performers by synthetics."The union alleged that the AI-generated creation was likely trained on the work of countless professionals without "permission or compensation," adding that Tilly Norwood had no "life experience to draw from." The guild further added that similar AI creations might jeopardize the livelihoods of actors and performers."To be clear, “Tilly Norwood” is not an actor, it’s a character generated by a computer program that was trained on the work of countless professional performers — without permission or compensation," the statement read.It continued:"It has no life experience to draw from, no emotion and, from what we’ve seen, audiences aren’t interested in watching computer-generated content untethered from the human experience. It doesn’t solve any “problem” — it creates the problem of using stolen performances to put actors out of work, jeopardizing performer livelihoods and devaluing human artistry."Furthermore, the union reminded producers looking to sign Tilly Norwood that they were not allowed to use "synthetic performers without complying with our contractual obligations." View this post on Instagram Instagram PostNotably, the leaders of SAG-AFTRA went on strike in July 2023, partly due to the increasing use of AI in filmmaking, per The Independent. In a press conference at the time, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, SAG-AFTRA’s national executive director, claimed that studios had promised to use "groundbreaking AI" to scan background performers and pay them only one day's pay while the studios retained copies of the scans for future use.“This ‘groundbreaking’ AI proposal that they gave us yesterday, they proposed that our background performers should be able to be scanned, get one day’s pay, and their companies should own that scan, their image, their likeness and should be able to use it for the rest of eternity on any project they want, with no consent and no compensation. If you think that’s a groundbreaking proposal, I suggest you think again,” he said.Tilly Norwood's creator defended her amid growing backlashOver the weekend, Dutch creator Eline Van der Velden introduced Tilly Norwood at the Zurich Film Festival, touting her as the "next Scarlett Johansson or Natalie Portman." The creation was released with Van der Venden's AI talent studio Xicoia. At the film festival, she also revealed that multiple studios were allegedly interested in signing the AI-generated actress.Tilly Norwood drew immense backlash from the entertainment industry, with several actors criticizing the use of AI on social media. According to Variety, Scream actress Melissa Barrera adviced actors signed to any agency looking to sign the AI creation to "drop their a$$." Meanwhile, actress Mara Wilson called out agencies and studios for not hiring "the hundreds of living young women whose faces were composited together" to create Tilly Norwood. During the September 29 episode of The View, Whoopi Goldberg suggested that the audience might not enjoy watching an AI-generated actor, adding that they will be able to differentiate between a real human and an AI-generated creation. During a podcast interview with Variety on September 29, Emily Blunt was made aware of the existence of the AI-generated actress and said:“Does it disappoint me? I don’t know how to quite answer it, other than to say how terrifying this is,” Blunt said. “No, are you serious? That’s an AI? Good Lord, we’re screwed. That is really, really scary, Come on, agencies, don’t do that. Please stop. Please stop taking away our human connection.”Following this, Eline Van der Velden addressed the backlash in an Instagram post, which was also reposted on Norwood's Instagram profile. Van der Velden clarified that Norwood was "not a replacement for a human being, but a creative work – a piece of art.” “To those who have expressed anger over the creation of my AI character, Tilly Norwood, she is not a replacement for a human being, but a creative work – a piece of art. Like many forms of art before her, she sparks conversation, and that in itself shows the power of creativity. I see AI not a replacement for a human being, but a creative work – a piece of art. Just as animation, puppetry, or CGI opened fresh possibilities without taking away from live acting, AI offers another way to imagine and build stories,” the statement read.It continued:"I hope we can welcome AI as part of the wider artistic family; one more way to express ourselves, alongside theatre, film, painting, music, and countless others. When we celebrate all forms of creativity, we open doors to new voices, new stories, and new ways of connecting with each other.”Cinemania World @Cinemania_WorldLINKMultiple talent agents are reportedly interested in signing AI actress #TillyNorwood, created by actress, comedian and technologist Eline Van der Velden through her AI company Xicoiais.In response to growing criticism, Eline shared a statement that read: “Tilly is not a replacement for a human being, but a creative work - a piece of art. Like many forms of art before her, she sparks conversation and that in itself shows the power of creativity.”Tilly Norwood's Instagram currently has over 40K followers, featuring pictures of the AI-generated "actress" in coffee shops, stills from her latest work, and headshots.