AI Influencer Slammed for ‘Disrespectful’ Announcement That She Has Leukemia
Luke Chinman
October 16, 2025 at 8:32 PM
1
NEED TO KNOW
* Lil Miquela, an animated internet personality, shared that she was “diagnosed” with leukemia in May as part of a marketing campaign for bone marrow donation nonprofit NMDP
* The “robot” creator “dramatized” the symptoms of leukemia “to reflect the experience of actual patients,” according to her videos
* Many commenters found the clips to be disrespectful to actual people who have been diagnosed with cancer
No, Lil Miquela does not have leukemia.
That’s because Miquela — who has a whopping 5 million followers across her Instagram and TikTok accounts — is not a real person.
At first glance, Miquela appears to be your standard content creator. She makes relatable videos to trending audios about teenage heartbreak. She posts from buzzy events, like Paris Fashion Week or the VMAs. And her annual income is reportedly in the millions, some of which comes from partnerships with brands like Calvin Klein and Samsung.
What distinguishes Miquela from other content creators, however, is that she has no sentience: She’s an animated “robot,” owned and operated by blockchain technology company Dapper Labs, that merely appears on social media as an influencer.
So it may come as a surprise that, on May 6, Miquela shared in a video on TikTok that she developed a bloody nose while in the glam chair on set.
“What went down on set today was really stressful and chaotic. I had (another!) nosebleed. Idk at what point I need to worry about this? but will keep y’all posted ❤️” the account captioned the video.
And 23 days later, Miquela returned to the platform with another update: “I haven’t posted in a while,” her animated form said in the video, sitting in a hospital chair, “but after the nosebleeds and feeling tired, I got myself checked and I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but the doctors diagnosed me with leukemia. How could this happen to me? I don’t know a lot right now, but I’ll keep y’all posted.”
The post was marked as a sponsored partnership with bone marrow donation nonprofit NMDP, and included the overlaid text, “While Miquela is not human, the symptoms shown are dramatized to reflect the experience of actual patients.”
That wasn’t enough of a disclaimer for many in the comments.
“This is inappropriate and disrespectful,” wrote one. “dystopian and setting us so far back as a society,” another chimed in. Meanwhile, a third commented, “This is so gross, especially for ppl actually struggling with cancer.”
Neither Dapper Labs nor NMDP immediately responded to PEOPLE’s request for comment.
In a press release about the campaign obtained by PEOPLE, NMDP wrote that the organization worked alongside “a team of real people with real expertise and real lived experiences” to develop Miquela’s videos with the goal “to provide a platform and voice to patients and donors who are passionate about the life-saving potential of blood stem cell donation to inspire young people to join the registry to potentially save a life.”
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
Her videos didn’t stop there. Throughout June, Miquela continued to share a variety of cancer-related posts — some about her “experience” with her diagnosis, a recorded “conversation” with a medical professional and even a collaboration with JoJo Siwa, who said she joined NMDP’s donor registry after seeing Miquela’s videos.
On June 27, Miquela’s account shared what appears to be its final video about her “cancer journey” — highlighting other actual humans who have been diagnosed with leukemia and urging its followers to join NMDP’s registry.
Wrote a commenter: “It would’ve been so easy to say ‘I wanted to use my platform to raise awareness of leukemia’ without pretending to have leukemia.”
Read the original article on People
