Bette Midler Denounces 23 Million-Stream AI Song as Tyrese Gibson Defends It
Updated
Updated · Yahoo! Voices · Aug 22
Bette Midler Denounces 23 Million-Stream AI Song as Tyrese Gibson Defends It
2 articles · Updated · Yahoo! Voices · Aug 22
Summary
Midler blasted "Celebrate Me" in an Instagram post, calling the charting Suno-made track "cultural genocide" and accusing AI music of copying generations of artists without compensation.
Gibson pushed back in the comments, saying AI "isn't going anywhere" and arguing the song's emotional impact matters more than its synthetic origin, even asking what human singer could top it.
The dispute centers on IngaRose's "Celebrate Me," which has logged more than 23 million Spotify streams; the account says the project uses human-written lyrics and real stories, with Suno refining stems and arrangement.
Natasha Bedingfield, India Arie and Amy Sedaris sided with Midler, with Bedingfield suggesting Olivia Dean's voice may have been echoed in the song's creation.
The flare-up highlights a widening music-industry fight over whether AI tools are creative aids or systems built on unlicensed borrowing from human performers.