Nova found out when her boyfriend woke her up. “My boyfriend shook me awake and was like, ‘You need to see this,'” the Asheville drag queen told WLOS.
What he showed her was a 30-second attack ad in the race for North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District. It shows Democrat Jamie Ager at a barn dance with drag queens and dancing with someone who appears to be Nova. It ends with the line “Jamie Ager talks like you and me on TV, but he’s dancing with they/them.”
Nova says it’s fake and made with AI. “None of it was real,” she told WLOS on Oct. 23. “I’ve never met the man in my life.” And: “I’ve never been to a barn dance in my life.”
Nova sent a cease-and-desist letter to Republican Jennifer Balkcom’s campaign. WLOS reported Oct. 27 that the ad remained on television and YouTube.
Who Paid for the Jennifer Balkcom Ad, and the NRCC Response
WLOS’s updated report identifies the National Republican Congressional Committee as paying for the ad and Balkcom as approving it. Its initial report attributed payment to her campaign.
“The NRCC stands by the ad,” NRCC spokesman Reilly Richardson said.
Balkcom’s campaign did not address the AI claim in its statement to WLOS. It instead accused Ager of promoting drag performers to children. WLOS reported that a spokesperson did not answer a later request for comment.
Ager answered in a video Oct. 26. “Our opponent is attacking us with 100% fake AI-generated lies,” he said, WLOS reported. He also called it “bullcrap.”
View Jamie Ager’s response on Instagram
Jamie Ager’s Oct. 26 video response, shared by his official campaign account, @jamieagernc.
Can Nova Sue? What a North Carolina Media Lawyer Says
Mike Tadych is a First Amendment attorney and counsel to the North Carolina Press Association. “But a cease-and-desist is only a shot over the bow,” he told WLOS.
If the campaign ignores it, Tadych said, Nova might have a misappropriation claim, meaning someone used her likeness without permission. She could sue for damages or ask for an injunction. Political ads get a lot of First Amendment protection, though. “I don’t know that a court would order that it be taken down because it would be seen as prior restraint,” he said.
Western Carolina University political scientist Chris Cooper told WLOS that North Carolina has no law requiring disclosure of AI-generated political ads. That does not resolve whether an individual has a separate claim over their likeness.
No lawsuit had been filed as of WLOS’s Oct. 27 update.
Related: How the AI ad depicted a barn dance that never happened
