Will Smith caught using AI crowds in concert video and the internet isn’t letting him live it down

Will Smith has found himself back in the headlines and, for once, it’s not for smacking anybody. This time, the Fresh Prince is catching heat for using blatantly AI-generated crowds in a new concert video posted to his YouTube channel.

The video dropped on August 12 and was supposed to be a feel-good hype piece for Will Smith’s current European tour. Instead, fans are ripping it apart after pausing the footage and spotting all the usual AI horrors: blurry faces, hands with way too many fingers, and limbs bending in ways that only Gumby should be able to pull off. It looks less like a sold-out crowd and more like the Sims after you dump a thousand mods into the game and hope it doesn’t crash.

Will Smith’s AI Problem

The video itself is titled: “My favorite part of tour is seeing you all up close. Thank you for seeing me too ❤️.” Cute idea, except half the “you” he’s thanking doesn’t exist. Instead, it’s an AI fever dream of fans with melting smiles and Frankenstein hands.

YouTube commenters wasted no time calling it out:

• One person said they pause just to count all the extra digits in the fake crowd.
• Another joked that it’s “offensive to old people without their glasses” because they probably thought it was real.

Point is, if you’re going to throw AI bodies into your concert promo, at least make sure they don’t look like background characters from a PS2 cutscene.

What’s Going On with Will Smith?

Smith is currently touring across Europe, still trying to build momentum off his album Based on a True Story — which critics mostly hated earlier this year. Instead of getting people hyped, this promo just gave everyone another reason to clown on him.

And let’s be real, no one’s buying that this was some “artistic choice.” This was lazy, cost-cutting filler that backfired. At least when Philly rappers shoot their music videos, the crowd might be drunk or a little wild, but they’re definitely not AI-generated monstrosities with seven fingers.

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Will Smith using AI to fake fans is a rough look. If the goal was to make his shows feel bigger, mission failed. Instead, he’s got people laughing at the crowds instead of buying tickets.

Here’s a tip for Will: Philly is right here. Come home, do a show, and you won’t need AI to fill a crowd. You’ll have the whole city screaming “Summertime” at the top of their lungs — with the correct number of fingers, too.