Nathan Cleary weighing up legal action over AI stunt after Origin decider

A bizarre advertisement left on the cars of hundreds of State of Origin attendees could spark legal proceedings from Nathan Cleary.

A bizarre, sloppy AI advertisement left on the cars of hundreds of State of Origin attendees could spark legal proceedings from Penrith superstar Nathan Cleary.

The SMH reports lawyers working for Cleary are “exploring civil and criminal options” given he is selective about which brands he partners with.

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Fans who parked in the Homebush P1 carpark on Wednesday night returned to their cars to find a pamphlet promoting car bonnet covers.

But the bizarre graphic, which appeared to be made with AI given its butchering of sponsor logos on Cleary’s Blues jumper, showed him with his arm around a woman (not partner Mary Fowler).

Nathan Cleary is the victim of a bizarre fake advertisement.

The ad bafflingly declares: “Way to go Blues! I knew this one had rizz! I’m taking this one home!” and “This flyer was printed a week ago.”

Cleary’s lawyer Daniel McGirr told the SMH: “It’s a disgrace what they’re doing with these guys’ brands.

“There’s a couple of avenues that will go down the track of. One of them is civilly, but they are also obtaining a benefit by deception, which is criminal. We don’t know who is affiliated with these brands – or whether they are real brands to start with.

Cleary could take legal action over the advertisement that was placed on cars during the State of Origin decider. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images)

“They might be scams. Say the punter on the street thinks, ‘Nathan Cleary is aligned to this, I trust him and he’s my hero’. They click on it, and they could be taken to some dark web or something like that and get scammed. It’s a criminal matter. With AI, this will get worse and worse until something is done about it.”

Dozens of top Aussie athletes have had their faces used without permission on products online which are frequently made cheaply and poorly overseas, and sometimes never even delivered.

“There’s a bigger story here about protecting the players as well,” McGirr said.

“Something needs to be done from an NRL perspective, because the NRL merchandising section should be the most concerned.”

Originally published as Nathan Cleary weighing up legal action over AI stunt after Origin decider