‘Peppa Pig’ Causes AI Stink: Concern As Beloved Hasbro Series Asks Child Actors To Sign Over Their Voices To Artificial Intelligence
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- Hasbro is including AI clauses in contracts for child voice actors on Peppa Pig that would allow the company to clone performers' voices and use AI-generated audio across the franchise's commercial assets, according to Deadline.
- The Agents of Young Performers Association (AYPA) organized an open letter signed by nearly 1,000 people condemning AI clauses on an "international children's franchise" — industry sources confirmed to Deadline the letter refers to Peppa Pig, though AYPA declined to identify the series.
- The open letter argues that "take it or leave it" AI clauses exploit minors, stating that "children cannot provide fully informed legal consent" and demanding that any agreement involving a child's voice be "fully exempt from all AI usage."
- Hasbro declined to address specific contract terms but told Deadline that "the protection of child performers is core to who Hasbro is" and pledged to engage with AI issues "responsibly and transparently."
- Industry sources told Deadline that AI clauses are now frequently appearing in children's TV and film contracts beyond Peppa Pig, with the AYPA's letter signaling broader resistance to the practice across the sector.
- Peppa Pig, created by Mark Baker and Neville Astley in 2004 and acquired by Hasbro in 2019, premiered Season 11 on Nickelodeon in March, with writer Adam Redfern recently installed as showrunner.
Why it matters: Nearly 1,000 industry signatories publicly rejected the terms, putting Hasbro's stated commitment to child protection — framed as "core to who we are" — in direct conflict with a clause that could grant indefinite AI voice rights to minors. Because AYPA says such clauses are increasingly standard in kids' contracts, this fight over Peppa Pig is likely to set a precedent for how studios negotiate AI rights with child performers across the industry.
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