{"id":82522,"date":"2025-10-15T16:31:09","date_gmt":"2025-10-15T16:31:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/82522\/"},"modified":"2025-10-15T16:31:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-15T16:31:09","slug":"deadpool-star-ryan-reynolds-enlists-a-real-tilly-norwood-for-new-mint-mobile-ad-amid-ai-actress-backlash","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/82522\/","title":{"rendered":"Deadpool Star Ryan Reynolds Enlists a Real Tilly Norwood for New Mint Mobile Ad Amid AI Actress Backlash"},"content":{"rendered":"

Remember that fake AI actress Tilly Norwood? The one that sparked a Hollywood backlash? Well, one actor is taking a stand against her, albeit a funny one: Ryan Reynolds<\/a>. The Deadpool actor announced his company Mint Mobile\u2019s first foray into providing Wifi, and he found a real-life actress named Tilly Norwood to help him out.<\/p>\n

Tilly Norwood (the fake one) is a viral AI-generated creation pushed as the next Scarlett Johansson or Natalie Portman. It was created by Eline Van der Velden, the Dutch founder of AI company Particle 6 Productions. Van der Velden sparked a backlash after announcing new talent studio Xicoia, which Deadline<\/a> reported was already in talks with a number of talent agents interested in signing Tilly Norwood.<\/p>\n

In 20 seconds I fought monsters, fled explosions, sold you a car, and nearly won an Oscar. <\/p>\n

All in a day\u2019s work\u2026 literally! <\/p>\n

Find yourself an actress who can do it all. (hi \ud83d\udc4b) so, which tilly are you today?\ud83d\udc7d\ud83d\ude97\ud83d\udc51\ud83d\udca5 #Showreel<\/a> #AIActress<\/a> #CastingCall<\/a> $Tilly<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/mmUg4BvC1v<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Tilly Norwood (@TillyNorwood) September 28, 2025<\/a> <\/p>\n

The Hollywood community was quick to condemn Tilly Norwood and its creators, as well as warn producers against dealing with it. Scream\u2019s Melissa Barrera wrote: “Hope all actors repped by the agent that does this, drop their a$. How gross, read the room.\u201d Matilda\u2019s Mara Wilson said: “Shame on these people. They have stolen the faces of hundreds of young women to make this AI \u2018actress.\u2019 They\u2019re not creators. They\u2019re identity thieves.”<\/p>\n

The Fantastic Four\u2019s Ralph Ineson, who played Galactus in the MCU movie, was more direct, posting \u201cF*** off\u201d on X \/ Twitter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Now, in his new advertisement<\/a>, Reynolds introduces MINTernet, a low-cost option for home internet via the Mint Mobile network, which is powered by T-Mobile. Next to him stood Natalie \u201cTilly\u201d Norwood.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything about Mint Mobile seems unreal. And now, we\u2019re introducing 5G home internet for $30 a month. Yes, that\u2019s real,\u201d Reynolds said in the ad. \u201cThat\u2019s why we invited Tilly Norwood, a real Mint customer, to help us announce it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"null\"<\/a>A real life Tilly Norwood, with Ryan Reynolds.<\/p>\n

Reynolds then asked the actress, \u201cYou are real, right?\u201d After she answered in the affirmative, the actor double-checked. \u201cNot an AI-generated combination of actors?\u201d Norwood cheekily responded: \u201cI\u2019m a combination of my parents.\u201d <\/p>\n

At the end of the ad, a voiceover went on to mention that the new Mint Mobile internet deal is only available to \u201ccarbon-based organisms.” AI need not apply. What do they need internet for anyway? Actually, don\u2019t answer that.<\/p>\n

With this ad, Reynolds is putting his company, one of his key moneymakers aside from his entertainment career, on the line to express a very clear stance against AI. That said, Reynolds isn\u2019t the first actor to speak out against the Tilly Norwood controversy. GLOW alum Betty Gilpin recently penned an open letter<\/a> to the AI actress that was published in The Hollywood Reporter, in which she tried her hardest to relate to the computer-generated performer but hilariously kept coming up short because Gilpin is, unlike Tilly, human. SAG-AFTRA, the union for actors on film and television, also came out and condemned the AI creation<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Creator Van der Velden addressed the backlash to insist Tilly Norwood \u201cis not a replacement for a human being.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTo 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 \u2014 a piece of art,\u201d Van der Velden said in a post released on the Tilly Norwood social media pages. \u201cLike many forms of art before her, she sparks conversation, and that in itself shows the power of creativity.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see AI not as a replacement for people, but as a new tool, a new paintbrush. Just as animation, puppetry, or CGI opened fresh possibilities without taking away from live acting, AI offers another way to imagine and build stories. I\u2019m an actor myself, and nothing \u2014 certainly not an AI character \u2014 can take away the craft or joy of human performance.<\/p>\n

“Creating Tilly has been, for me, an act of imagination and craftmanship, not unlike drawing a character, writing a role or shaping a performance. It takes time, skill, and iteration to bring such a character to life. She represents experimentation, not substitution. Much of my work has always been about holding up a mirror to society through satire, and this is no different.”<\/p>\n

Lex Briscuso is a film and television critic and a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter at @nikonamerica.<\/p>\n