A 26-year-old Chinese model, popular on social media with over 300,000 followers, discovered that her face had been replicated for a character in a series entirely generated by artificial intelligence. Broadcast on the Hongguo platform, this fiction led the young woman to file a complaint against the companies that produced it.
On March 30, 2026, the model received messages from two followers who recognized her in a micro-drama, a short series designed to be watched on a smartphone. According to France Culture, which collected her testimony, she went to the platform and saw that the character resembled her feature for feature. This fictional character was generated from her photos.
A Series Created From Her Photos
The character in question belongs to “The Peach Blossom Hairpin,” a popular series set in Imperial China. The model points out a detail that, in her view, leaves no doubt: both women have a beauty mark just above their lips. “It wasn’t just a vague resemblance. They had simply stolen my face,” she states.
She admits she did not take the matter seriously “at first.” However, she says she decided to file a complaint after seeing the success of the micro-drama. “The producers used a series of photos taken in 2024,” she emphasizes.
Beyond the theft of her image, the young woman has to contend with a character she does not control. In the fiction, this character is a violent and embittered woman, who also suffers violence several times. “They used my face for scenes where I am hit: I am slapped, my hair is pulled,” she recounts. “I was very afraid that internet users would confuse me with this character and think I was really like that.”
Consequences for Her Career
With the help of her lawyer, the model managed to identify the three production companies behind this series. The micro-drama was removed from Hongguo on April 3, 2026.
The complaint has had, according to her, significant repercussions on her work. “Between May and July, my income dropped by 80%,” she says. “Most Chinese brands stopped contacting me: you defend your rights, they fear an image risk, and they no longer want to do advertising with you.” She says she is now anxious and is taking medication.
She continues her fight nonetheless, hoping the case will contribute to better regulation in China, where original cultural works are being replaced by AI-generated content. A judgment is expected in January 2027. Measures have been taken since, including the validation of micro-dramas and the provision of documentation aimed at ensuring that a human being’s image is not stolen.
