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FILE – The Instagram logo is seen on a cell phone in Boston, Oct. 14, 2022. (AP Photo\/Michael Dwyer, File)<\/p>\n
Michael Dwyer\/AP<\/p>\n
A Dallas influencer who has cultivated an image for her 400,000 followers of a body-positive, health-conscious, family-friendly mother of three alleges an intimate apparel company \u201cdisempowered and humiliated\u201d her by posting an AI-generated deepfake image<\/a> appearing to show her partially nude body on Instagram.\u00a0<\/p>\n The lawsuit filed in federal court in San Francisco Tuesday by Molly Tranchin against EBY Inc. \u2014 an underwear brand co-founded by Renata Black and Sofia Vergara<\/a> that stands for \u201cEmpowered by You\u201d \u2014 brings claims for violation of the California deepfake<\/a> statute, aiding and abetting disclosure of a nonconsensual deepfake, invasion of privacy, defamation, breach of contract, tortious interference and copyright infringement. Tranchin<\/a> had served as a brand ambassador for the company since May 2024 and was compensated for posting content to her followers promoting EBY products in accordance with a contract.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cEBY\u2019s conduct \u2014 violating plaintiff\u2019s bodily autonomy in order to sell underwear \u2014 is the opposite of the female empowerment that EBY purports to champion,\u201d the suit alleges. \u201cWhen plaintiff contacted EBY about the public posting on Instagram of an offensive AI-generated image purporting to show plaintiff in a state of undress, EBY apologized for the \u2018inconvenience.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n EBY did not respond to a message seeking comment Thursday.\u00a0<\/p>\n Tranchin\u2019s lawyer, Brett Rosenthal of Reese Marketos, told The Texas Lawbook that EBY had not only disclaimed responsibility for the post, but at one point also threatened his client with a breach of contract claim after she declined to provide additional content to the company.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s incredibly embarrassing, as you can imagine,\u201d he said, discussing the impact the post has had on his client. \u201cAnd most people don\u2019t realize, because of the quality of an AI deepfake these days, that it\u2019s not real. It looks real, and most people assumed she had crossed a boundary and completely changed the type of content that she was putting out there. \u2026 [It was] reputationally damaging to her business and her reputation among her followers, and also personally distressing to have people think that you would do this when you had nothing to do with it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Tranchin, whose Instagram handle is FashionVeggie, has been building a following since 2014 and has shifted her focus over the years from vegan clothes and beauty products to posts that highlight her life as a wife and mother of three sons. But her interest in fashion has remained, and according to the lawsuit she has regularly partnered with apparel companies that promote body positivity.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n For the partnership with EBY, Tranchin\u2019s agent and the company entered a contract Sept. 23, 2025, under which she would create three videos that EBY could \u201creview and evaluate\u201d prior to posting during \u201cone round of reasonable edits to the content.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n If any revisions were requested, the company was required to send Tranchin feedback and she would \u201crevise accordingly,\u201d according to the lawsuit. \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cImportantly, the contract does not permit EBY to unilaterally alter [the content] without review and approval from Ms. Tranchin,\u201d the lawsuit reads. \u201cIndeed, the contract expressly provides that Ms. Tranchin \u2018retains full ownership of all right, title, and interest in and to the content, including all copyrights and other intellectual property rights therein,\u2019 which includes the right to create derivative works.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The contract also allows Tranchin to terminate the agreement if EBY becomes \u201cthe subject of public controversy, scandal, or disrepute, or otherwise takes or is the subject of any action which shocks, insults, or offends the community of creator, including, without limitation, creator\u2019s audience, followers, or subscribers.\u201d That clause, the lawsuit alleges, shows the value Tranchin places on her \u201creputation and personal brand.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Pursuant to the contract, Tranchin sent EBY a video in October 2025 where she was wearing the company\u2019s products and \u201cmodestly covering her chest and breast with her arms.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cBut EBY \u2014 a company that is purportedly dedicated to empowering women \u2014 did not post what Ms. Tranchin created, nor did EBY exercise its contractual right to make one round of \u2018reasonable\u2019 edits with Ms. Tranchin\u2019s consent,\u201d the lawsuit alleges. \u201cInstead, EBY unilaterally posted an altered video (or \u2018deepfake\u2019) of Ms. Tranchin that depicts her exposing her breasts and nipples through one of EBY\u2019s sheer bras.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Her followers responded swiftly, according to the lawsuit, sending her messages that included screenshots, expressing they were \u201cshocked to see such explicit content on Ms. Tranchin\u2019s social media pages.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n EBY executives, including Black, initially wrote to Tranchin apologizing but has \u201cavoided taking responsibility for its conduct\u201d by \u201cplaying the blame game and pointing the finger at other companies that EBY claims (without providing evidence) are responsible,\u201d the lawsuit alleges.\u00a0<\/p>\n The case has been assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Peter H. Kang, who has scheduled an initial case management conference in the case for Sept. 9.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The Texas Lawbook is an online news publication focused on business law in Texas. For a longer version of this story, visit texaslawbook.net.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n