Loryn Brantz Blasts BuzzFeed, Amazon Over AI Cuppy Series as 2 Million Followers Back Boycott
Updated
Updated · WIRED · May 29
Loryn Brantz Blasts BuzzFeed, Amazon Over AI Cuppy Series as 2 Million Followers Back Boycott
1 articles · Updated · WIRED · May 29
Summary
Instagram posts from Loryn Brantz accused BuzzFeed and Amazon of turning her Cuppy character into a “soulless AI puppet” after Prime Video licensed the property for Cupcake & Friends, one of three shows in Amazon’s GenAI Creators’ Fund.
BuzzFeed says it owns the Cuppy IP and can develop the once-dormant series without Brantz, while Jonah Peretti said humans will still handle writing, storytelling and animation with AI used as a tool.
Brantz, who created Good Advice Cupcake in 2017 and left BuzzFeed in 2023, says executives had promised not to continue Cuppy without her and that she would never have accepted AI-based use.
The dispute has widened into a labor-and-authorship fight: Brantz says BuzzFeed sought an NDA before sharing details, her Instagram Cuppy account has more than 2 million followers, and she is exploring legal options.
Can a contract from the pre-AI era justify resurrecting a character with technology its creator vehemently opposes?
As AI revives dormant media, are we entering a creative renaissance or a 'quiet collapse' for human artists?
AI vs. Artist: The 2026 "Cuppy" Controversy, Legal Gaps, and the Fight for Creative Control
Overview
In May 2026, BuzzFeed and Amazon MGM Studios decided to adapt 'The Good Advice Cupcake' (Cuppy) into an AI-assisted animated series without involving its creator, Loryn Brantz. Brantz publicly condemned this move on Instagram, and her post quickly became a focal point, sparking widespread fears among artists that generative AI is being used to exploit creative work while excluding original creators. This public outcry highlighted the growing tension between corporate ownership of intellectual property and the rights of creators in the age of artificial intelligence, setting off industry-wide debates about the future of creativity and technology.