‘Peppa Pig’ Causes AI Stink: Concern As Beloved Hasbro Series Asks Child Actors To Sign Over Their Voices To Artificial…

EXCLUSIVE: Peppa Pig is famed for her love of jumping in muddy puddles, but the company behind the hit children’s TV series has created a different kind of splash with its approach to AI.

Hasbro, the U.S. entertainment giant that acquired the Peppa Pig brand in 2019, is asking child actors on the animated series to sign over their voices to artificial intelligence under new contract terms, Deadline can reveal.

Industry sources said AI clauses are now frequently appearing in kids’ contracts on TV and film projects, but Hasbro’s embrace of the terms on Peppa Pig has become a lightning rod for concern.

Nearly 1,000 people have signed an open letter (copied in full below), organized by the Agents of Young Performers Association (AYPA), condemning AI terms on an “international children’s franchise.”

The open letter does not name Peppa Pig, and the AYPA declined to identify the series, but industry sources told Deadline that it refers to the beloved show.

The letter was also not specific about the clause in question, but theoretically, it could give Hasbro the power to clone a child’s voice and then use the AI-generated audio in Peppa Pig commercial assets.

Hasbro told Deadline that it was committed to protecting child performers, adding that it wished to approach discussions about artificial intelligence responsibly and transparently.

“Consent Must Be Treated With Care”

AYPA members are increasingly concerned about children being asked to effectively surrender their voice and image rights. Agents frequently ask the body for advice on AI clauses without naming specific projects.

The AYPA’s open letter said these clauses are often presented as a “take it or leave it” ultimatum, meaning children can lose out on work if their parents or guardians refuse to agree to the terms.

“Where the performer is a child, consent must be treated with the greatest of care. Children cannot provide fully informed legal consent and a parent or guardian’s approval should never be used as a blanket licence to capture, clone, train, or reuse a child’s voice indefinitely,” the letter said.

“Any agreement involving a child’s voice should be fully exempt from all AI usage. No child should have their future professional identity shaped by an AI model created before they were old enough to understand its consequences.”

It concluded: “We reject all contracts that require child performers to surrender voice rights indefinitely and without limits.”

A Hasbro spokesperson said: “Hasbro is aware of the open letter circulating regarding AI clauses in children’s performance contracts. We are not able to comment on specific negotiations or contractual arrangements.

“The protection of child performers is core to who Hasbro is, it’s part of our DNA. As industry standards around AI continue to evolve, we are committed to engaging with this issue in a responsible and transparent manner.”

Created by Mark Baker and Neville Astley in 2004, Peppa Pig has become an international phenomenon. Season 11 premiered in the U.S. on Nickelodeon in March, featuring a storyline in which Peppa’s brother George is revealed to be moderately deaf. In the same month, Hasbro installed Adam Redfern, a writer on The Adventures of Paddington, as Peppa Pig‘s showrunner.

AYPA Open Letter On AI Clauses In Kids Contracts:

To studio executives, producers, casting teams, commissioners, and all those shaping the future of recorded performance.

We write at a moment when artificial intelligence is already the topic of much dispute, discussion and grave concerns throughout the industry.

Most recently, a major studio who owns the IP for an international children’s franchise producing a long running animated television series has offered contracts to child voice actors insisting that they agree to the use of AI thus allowing them to use the child’s voice in all commercial assets within their franchise. The refusal to remove this clause with an attitude of ‘take it or leave it’ has led us write this letter to make it clear that this will not be accepted and to bring this matter to the attention of the wider industry.

Where the performer is a child, consent must be treated with the greatest of care. Children cannot provide fully informed legal consent and a parent or guardian’s approval should never be used as a blanket licence to capture, clone, train, or reuse a child’s voice indefinitely.

Any agreement involving a child’s voice should be fully exempt from all AI usage. No child should have their future professional identity shaped by an AI model created before they were old enough to understand its consequences. Their voice should not become a permanent commercial asset before they have the legal and personal capacity to decide for themselves.

We the undersigned urge you to commit to responsible industry practice. Collectively, we reject all contracts that require child performers to surrender voice rights indefinitely and without limits.