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Spat erupts between Julia Letlow, John Fleming over AI video
U.S. Rep. Julia Letlow on Friday slammed Louisiana Treasurer John Fleming for sharing on social media an AI video depicting a fake version of her referring to her late husband.
“Posting this video is disgraceful and indefensible,” Letlow said in a real-life video she posted Friday, the first day of early voting in the head-to-head U.S. Senate primary between the two Republicans.
“Family is off-limits,” Letlow said. “Period. To include my late husband Luke in your video is unconscionable. You didn’t just mention his death, you made a spectacle of it like it was entertainment.”
On Thursday, Fleming shared what he said was a parody video he didn’t make. It depicts an AI-created version of Letlow lauding diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and saying she supports carbon capture and sequestration. Fleming re-posted the video Friday morning.
The AI-version of Letlow says, “I was aiming to become a University of Louisiana president when my poor husband died, and I was appointed to his congressional seat.”
In 2021, Letlow won a special election to fill the vacant seat of her late husband, congressman-elect Luke Letlow, who died of COVID-19 just months earlier in December.
Fleming on Friday said the Letlow campaign must first commit to taking “dishonest” and “nasty” AI videos of him off the internet before he would consider deleting the post.
Gov. Jeff Landry, who is backing Letlow in the Senate primary, also blasted Fleming for the video.
“There are lines that simply shouldn’t be crossed, and invoking the loss of a spouse for political purposes is one of them,” Landry wrote in a social media post. “Luke and I were friends up until the day he passed. John Fleming should be ashamed.”
U.S. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise also condemned the move.
“John Fleming needs to take this fake AI-created video down IMMEDIATELY!” Scalise wrote on X. “Luke Letlow was a dear friend and a true public servant. To falsely attack his legacy for cheap political points is a new low and could also be illegal.”
The Republican primary election runoff is June 27. Early voting runs until June 20.