By 3 min readApril 24, 2026 – 1:23PMAFP
Publication Date: 2026-04-24 03:23:00
Christine Li is a model and influencer, but not an actress. When she imagined herself playing a cruel character in a Chinese microdrama, she was confused, then angry and afraid.
The 26-year-old is one of two people who told AFP that their likenesses were cast without consent in the AI-generated show “The Peach Blossom Hairpin,” which aired on Hongguo, a major microdrama app owned by Tiktok parent company ByteDance.
Li plans to sue the drama makers and the platform, highlighting new legal and regulatory gray areas created by artificial intelligence.
“I was really shocked. It was definitely me,” said Li, who lives in Hangzhou, eastern China.
“It was so obvious that they were using a particular set of photos that I had taken two years ago and posted on social media,” she said.
Microdramas are ultra-short online soap operas that are extremely popular in China and elsewhere.
When Li’s fans brought the series to her attention, she was horrified to see her digital twin slapping women and abusing animals.
“I also felt a deep…
