The estate claims Dudesy podcast lacked permission for Carlin’s likeness or copyrighted material in the special.
George Carlin’s estate is taking legal action against the media company responsible for a counterfeit hour-long comedy special. The creators proudly claimed to employ artificial intelligence to emulate the late standup comic’s style and content.
The legal action, filed in federal court in Los Angeles on Thursday, seeks a judge’s order to compel the podcast outlet Dudesy to promptly remove the audio special titled “George Carlin: I’m Glad I’m Dead.” The special features a synthesized version of Carlin providing commentary on current events. Carlin, the original comedian, passed away in 2008.
Kelly Carlin, George Carlin’s daughter, expressed in a statement that the production is “a poorly-executed facsimile cobbled together by unscrupulous individuals to capitalize on the extraordinary goodwill my father established with his adoring fanbase.”
The lawsuit, brought forth by the Carlin estate and its executor, Jerold Hamza, accuses Dudesy, along with podcast hosts Will Sasso and Chad Kultgen, of violating Carlin’s right of publicity and copyright. The suit alleges that none of the defendants had the authorization to use Carlin’s likeness for the AI-generated “George Carlin special,” and they lacked a license for any of the late comedian’s copyrighted materials.
As of now, the defendants have not submitted a response to the lawsuit, and it remains unclear whether they have secured legal representation. Attempts to reach them for comments were unsuccessful.
In the YouTube-posted special on January 9th, an AI engine identified in a voiceover as the Dudesy AI claimed to have listened to 50 years of George Carlin’s material and attempted to replicate his voice, cadence, attitude, and contemporary interests.
The plaintiffs argue that if the special was indeed created in this manner – a point some listeners question – it constitutes a violation of Carlin’s copyright.
As is common for similar projects, the company also released a podcast episode featuring hosts Sasso and Kultgen introducing and discussing the imitation Carlin.
In a section of the episode mentioned in the lawsuit, Kultgen questions, What we just listened to, was that passable?
This lawsuit marks one of the initial steps in what is anticipated to be a growing trend of significant legal actions combating the renewed use of celebrity images and likenesses.
Josh Schiller, representing the plaintiffs, emphasized in a statement that the case is not just about AI; it’s about the humans that use AI to violate the law, infringe on intellectual property rights, and flout common decency.