Fans furious over ‘disrespectful’ AI-generated photos of dead stars including Steve Irwin, Michael Jackson and Freddie Mercury

A series of AI-generated videos featuring deceased celebrities reunited with their living loved ones has ignited a firestorm of criticism.

The controversial clips were created by X user Min Choi, who describes himself as an “AI educator.”

Choi shared the videos to showcase Grok-2, a new “state-of-the-art AI assistant” he claims is the “best AI image model that can generate photorealistic people right now”.

The videos ranged from playful to deeply unsettling for some.

Dolly Parton was shown cuddling up to Elvis Presley, while Beyoncé struck a pose with Michael Jackson.

But the tone shifted when Choi posted a video of Paul McCartney with John Lennon, who was murdered in 1980.

Then the backlash intensified over AI-generated reunions between living celebrities and their late family members.

One video depicts Princes William and Harry standing beside their late mother, Princess Diana.

Another shows Australian wildlife warrior Steve Irwin embracing his adult daughter, Bindi, who was just eight-years-old when he died.

The Irwin video, viewed over two million times, shows the pair smiling and hugging — a scene that many found deeply disturbing.

“Seek professional psychiatric help, you sh*******,” one X response to the Irwin video said.

“Extremely disrespectful and distasteful,” wrote a second.

“This is evil. There is something wrong with you, something broken inside you, that you would make this and not instantly delete it. These are real human beings, who have suffered real human tragedies. Not toys for you to play dolls with. F******creep,” one fired-up commenter said.

“These are bad and you should feel bad about making them,” added another.

“You should take these down. Very disrespectful,” one said.

While AI-generated content has long been a source of controversy, these videos have reignited the debate, with many calling for stricter guidelines on how the technology is used.