Asheville drag performer demands removal of attack ad she says fabricated her appearance with AI

An Asheville drag performer’s demand to remove a political attack ad has not stopped it from airing. Nova says the spot used AI to place her beside Democratic congressional candidate Jamie Ager without permission. WLOS reported October 26 that it remained on television and YouTube after she sent Republican opponent Jennifer Balkcom’s campaign a cease-and-desist letter.

A barn dance Nova says never happened

The 30-second advertisement targets Ager in North Carolina’s 11th Congressional District race. It depicts him at a barn dance with drag performers, including someone presented as Nova. Its narration turns that scene into an attack: “Jamie Ager talks like you and me on TV, but he’s dancing with they/them.”

In her October 23 interview with WLOS, Nova said she had never met Ager and had never been to a barn dance. She said Balkcom’s campaign had not contacted her before featuring her. Nova also said the advertisement mocked LGBTQ people and reinforced a false stereotype that drag performers seek to indoctrinate children.

The committee stands by the spot

WLOS’s October 26 follow-up identified the National Republican Congressional Committee, or NRCC, as the ad’s payer and Balkcom as having approved it. Asked about the dispute by Spectrum News, Balkcom’s campaign referred questions to the committee. The NRCC said it stood by the advertisement and argued that it raised issues voters needed answered.

Ager’s campaign called the ad “100% fake” and accused its opponent of using AI to mislead voters. The NRCC did not answer Spectrum’s question about why it had not disclosed AI use. Neither its response nor Balkcom’s statement to WLOS acknowledged using AI.

A removal demand faces legal hurdles

First Amendment attorney Mike Tadych told WLOS that a possible misappropriation claim would concern using Nova’s image without permission to imply she was somewhere she was not. He characterized the cease-and-desist letter as a warning rather than a court-imposed restriction.

Tadych cautioned that a court might resist ordering removal because it could amount to prior restraint—a restriction on speech before it is communicated. But continued airing after the advertiser knows there was no consent could potentially increase damages owed to a successful plaintiff, he said.

North Carolina has no law requiring political advertisements to disclose AI generation, Western Carolina University political science chair Chris Cooper told WLOS. That disclosure gap does not itself settle Nova’s likeness complaint: whether an unauthorized depiction violates other laws would depend on the facts and applicable legal standards.