OCT. 26, 2026 – An AI-generated TV commercial paid for by the National Republican Congressional Committee and approved by NC-11 Republican candidate Jennifer Balkcom. (WLOS)
ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) —After the release of a recent artificial intelligence political attack ad targeting Democratic congressional candidate Jamie Ager, attorneys say Asheville drag queens could take legal steps for use of likeness.
The commercial was paid for by the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) and approved by Republican NC-11 candidate Jennifer Balkcom.
The ad features an Asheville drag queen known as Nova, who says her likeness was used without her permission. The ad depicts a barn dance with drag queens and NC-11 candidate Jamie Ager dancing with what appears to be Nova.
“My boyfriend shook me awake and was like, ‘You need to see this,'” Nova said.
Nova told News 13 on Friday that she was blindsided when she learned her image has been used to depict her dancing with Ager.
ASHEVILLE DRAG QUEEN SAYS ATTACK AD THAT FALSELY LINKS HER TO JAMIE AGER WAS MADE WITH AI
But Nova says she has never met the Democratic candidate or been to his property. She is demanding that the ad be removed and taken down, but it continues to run on television and is posted on YouTube.
Mike Tadych, a First Amendment attorney and counsel to the North Carolina Press Association, said if the campaign doesn’t address the cease-and-desist order, which Nova sent to Balkcom’s campaign, there could be legal grounds to pursue a case of what’s called misappropriation.
“If Nova, the drag queen, didn’t give permission for her image to be used, it’s being used to imply she was someplace where she wasn’t,” Tadych said. “But a cease-and-desist is only a shot over the bow.”
Tadych said if the ad keeps running, the next step could possibly be a different filing that comes with damages if a case is won.
“You can file an action for misappropriation. She could also file for an injunction. But, in this context, it’s a political advertisement, which enjoys an enormous amount of First Amendment protection,” Tadych said.
KNOW YOUR CANDIDATE: JAMIE AGER FOR NORTH CAROLINA’S 11TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT
Tadych said getting the political ad taken down could be difficult.
“I don’t know that a court would order that it be taken down because it would be seen as prior restraint. But it would only add to the potential damages of the plaintiff if it keeps running after knowledge there was no consent,” Tadych said.
The current attack ad raises questions about how existing laws protecting a person’s likeness may apply when AI is used to create political advertising that depicts someone in a potentially misleading situation.
AI political ads and the law
North Carolina does not have a law requiring political advertisements to disclose when they are generated using artificial intelligence chair of the political science department at Western Carolina University
“North Carolina has no law that says that AI ads need to be disclosed. Many other states do,” Cooper said.
The absence of an AI disclosure requirement does not, by itself, resolve whether using a person’s likeness without permission could violate other laws. Any potential claim would depend on the facts and applicable legal standards.
KNOW YOUR CANDIDATE: JENNIFER BALKCOM FOR NORTH CAROLINA’S 11TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT
Cooper said the ad may be intended to motivate Republican voters opposed to Ager, “to get the hard-core Republicans who want anybody but Jamie Ager, anybody but a Democrat in office, to get off the couch and cast that vote.”
A spokesperson for Ager called the ad “100% fake,” saying Balkcom “can’t win on the truth” and is “insulting the intelligence of voters in western North Carolina.”
Jennifer Balkcom’s spokesperson has not returned News 13’s request for comment about the ad.
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