Nearly 1,000 Hollywood Professionals Unite Against Studio’s AI Demands in Open Letter Over Child Actors’ Voices

Nearly 1,000 actors, talent agents, parents, and entertainment professionals are speaking out against the use of artificial intelligence in contracts involving child performers.

The Agents for Young Performers Association (AYPA) organized an open letter this week calling on studios to stop including contract terms that allow children’s voices to be copied, trained, or reused through AI technology. The letter claims that a major studio behind an international children’s franchise has asked young voice actors to agree to AI use of their voices for future commercial content.

According to the letter, the studio has taken a strict approach when agents object to these clauses, allegedly responding with a “take it or leave it” attitude. The group did not publicly name the studio involved, but the situation comes after reports that Hasbro has explored AI-related uses connected to the Peppa Pig franchise.

The AYPA said the issue is much bigger than one company or one show. In a statement shared with Variety, the organization said the letter focuses on a growing concern across the entertainment industry, where companies are adding AI language to contracts for young performers.

“There should be no question of using child actors in any form of AI, whether film, recorded media or images,” the AYPA board told Variety.

The letter argues that children cannot fully understand the long-term impact of giving companies permission to recreate their voices. The signatories believe parents or guardians should not be able to approve unlimited AI rights on behalf of a child.

“Children cannot provide fully informed legal consent and a parent or guardian’s approval should never be used as a blanket licence to capture, clone, train, or reuse a child’s voice indefinitely,” the letter stated.

The group also warned that a child performer’s voice could become a permanent business asset before they are old enough to make that decision themselves.

“No child should have their future professional identity shaped by an AI model created before they were old enough to understand its consequences,” the letter added.

Hasbro responded to the controversy after Variety reported on the open letter. The company said protecting young performers is an important part of its values and that it is continuing to look at AI responsibly as the technology develops.

A Hasbro spokesperson told Deadline that “the protection of child performers is core to who Hasbro is” and added that the company is committed to handling AI in a responsible and transparent way.

The discussion has gained extra attention because of Peppa Pig’s global popularity. The animated character, which debuted in 2004, has become one of the world’s most recognizable children’s brands, expanding into movies, merchandise, music, and theme park attractions.

An AI version of Peppa Pig has already been shown publicly. During an Axios AI+NY event, representatives from Hasbro AI Studio and ElevenLabs demonstrated an AI version of the character while discussing AI voice technology. Hasbro said the demonstration used an authorized voice created with proper permissions and was part of its responsible AI efforts.

However, questions remain about how AI technology will affect young voice actors in the future. The AYPA’s letter argues that children should not have their voices digitally recreated or commercially used without clear protections.

As AI continues to become more common in entertainment, the debate over performer rights, consent, and ownership of voices is expected to grow. For many in the industry, the main concern is making sure young actors are protected before new technology moves faster than the rules surrounding it.

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