‘The Odyssey’ Star Mia Goth’s Team Fights Back After a Fake ‘My Ex Is My Biggest Fan’ Photo Fooled the Internet

In the age of AI, a single convincing image can travel around the world before anyone checks whether it is real. For public figures, that creates a strange new problem: they can be made to say things they never said, in a place they never posted. Mia Goth has now become the latest example.

Goth’s team has filed multiple complaints with Instagram over the spread of what it calls counterfeit, AI-generated images of the actress. The issue centers on a verified fan account that posted a picture of Goth in a shirt reading “MY EX IS MY BIGGEST FAN”, just days after she filed for divorce from Shia LaBeouf. The image was fake, and Goth does not use social media.

The timing made the post irresistible. Goth filed for divorce on Tuesday, October 6, in Los Angeles County Superior Court, citing irreconcilable differences after a separation. Two days later, on October 8, an Instagram account called “Mia Goth | Fan Page” posted what looked like a selfie of her in a white T-shirt with that message.

The account, @miagoth_, carried a blue verification badge and had more than 1 million followers. Even though it described itself as a fan page, the badge and following made it look far more official than it was. For years, the checkmark has signaled that an account was authentic, which likely added to the confusion.

The image spread quickly, and several outlets treated it as though it were a genuine statement from Goth about her ex-husband. Her representative then clarified that she is not active on any social media accounts, including Instagram. The picture was AI-generated, and the account was not hers.

Goth’s representative, Christine Tripicchio, told The Verge that the actress does not own or engage in social media on any platform. The team said it had filed multiple complaints asking Instagram to remove the verified account, which continued to post counterfeit AI images. It called the fact that the account met the criteria for a blue check disconcerting on a fundamental level.

The statement went further, calling it incomprehensible that Instagram appears to prioritize spreading forged and manipulated images over protecting the integrity of a public figure’s likeness. That is a sharp criticism of how the platform handles impersonation and AI content. It also reflects a growing frustration among people in the public eye.

Meta has since removed the account. A company spokesperson, Alex Dziedzan, told The Verge that the verified fan account was removed for impersonating a public figure. The page was no longer visible on Instagram as of Tuesday afternoon.

The company’s broader policy remains a point of debate. Meta does not ban AI-generated depictions of real people, and while it labels some AI-made content, its rules include an exception under which still images do not require a label. Critics say that gap is exactly what allows images like this one to circulate unchecked.

Goth is far from the first celebrity to confront this issue. Several Hollywood figures, including Scarlett Johansson and Cate Blanchett, have spoken out against deepfakes and AI-generated images. As the technology improves, fakes are becoming harder to spot, and the speed of social media means a false image can gain millions of views before it is debunked.

For someone like Goth, who has deliberately stayed off social media, the situation is especially frustrating. Her public presence is shaped by her work in films such as ‘X’, ‘Pearl’ and ‘MaXXXine’, not by posts. A fabricated selfie that appears to reveal her feelings about her divorce turns that choice upside down.

The divorce filing itself is not in dispute, but the fake image shows how personal news can be exploited. A caption about an ex-husband is exactly the kind of content that spreads fast, and it can shape public perception without any basis in fact. That makes it a media literacy problem as much as a technology one.

It also puts pressure on platforms to rethink verification. When a blue badge appears on an account that publishes fabricated images of a real person, it risks lending those images credibility they do not deserve. Goth’s team is asking Instagram to take that risk seriously.

With the account removed, the immediate issue has been resolved, but the larger question remains. Will platforms tighten their rules on AI depictions of real people, or will incidents like this keep recurring? For now, the safest approach for readers is to be skeptical of any viral image that seems too perfectly timed.

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