___ (https://variety.com/2026/biz/news/weird-al-yankovic-rejected-ai-commercial-money-offer-1236800794/#) 1. Home (https://variety.com/) 2. Music (https://variety.com/v/music/) 3. News (https://variety.com/c/news/) ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic Pulled Out of AI Ad Despite Offer to Make a ‘Nice Pile of Money’: ‘I Can’t Be the Poster Boy for AI’ Christopher Polk/WireImage Some things are too weird even for parody king “Weird Al”Yankovic. Ahead of a Syracuse, New York, stop on his “Bigger & Weirder” tour,Yankovic revealed (https://www.syracuse.com/entertainment/2026/06/weird-als-secret-hes-just-a-normal-guy-who-loves-fun-interview-syracuse-concert-preview.html) to Syracuse.com in an interview published this week that he was offered “a nice pile of money”to appear in a commercial for business-focused software, but he backed out once he realized the ad would involve AI. “I’m not a fan of AI,”he said. “I’m not going to mention any names, but they told me it was for a business. It was business software that would increase productivity,”Yankovic told the paper. “I said, ‘Oh well, yeah, sure, I could do that.’ And then a week before we’re supposed to shoot it, I find out this is AI. And I thought, ‘Oh no, I can’t be the poster boy for AI, forget it.’ So I felt bad about kind of pulling out at the last minute. But yeah, I’m not down with that.” The satirist, who also told the paper he’s seen the “Weird AI”jokes that’ve popped up online, joins a legion of Hollywood performers who’ve rebuked the technology. “Backrooms”director Kane Parsons has called (https://www.theaustralian.com.au/culture/backrooms-inside-the-film-that-began-as-a-meme/news-story/ee86786c118e8a6fdfd2ce835e6a102d) AI “genuinely harmful,”while Emma Thompson has said (https://www.facebook.com/colbertlateshow/videos/dame-emma-thompson-has-two-words-for-you-aicolbert-emmathompson-ai-writing/1178843631020851/) the technology has induced “intense irritation“into her creative process. Madonna also told (https://variety.com/2026/music/news/madonna-ai-opposite-of-making-art-1236797851/) Vogue Italia in an interview published last week that AI and algorithms run counter to the way artists should approach making art. (Though, it should be noted, Madonna’s “Confessions II”short film relied on multiple AI artists.) “Algorithms and artificial intelligence are the opposite of taking risks and to me that is the opposite of making art,”she said. Close privacy/terms of use policy Privacy Preference Center Manage Consent Preferences Performance Cookies Performance Cookies These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to monitor its performance. Targeting Cookies Targeting Cookies These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising. These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable information. Functional Cookies Functional Cookies These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly. Consent Leg.Interest checkbox label label checkbox label label checkbox label label https://variety.com/2026/biz/news/weird-al-yankovic-rejected-ai-commercial-money-offer-1236800794/#