The Queen of Hip-Hop Soul found herself in a heap of controversy after seemingly endorsing AI in music. In an ad from Suno, Mary J. Blige sat down with her producers and admitted she doesn’t really understand all the fuss about AI. All she knew was that the music being made in the studio was “dope,” and she was excited to try it out further. Naturally, people online were extremely disappointed that an R&B legend would let them down so much.
However, now, there’s a bit of an awkward turn. Apparently, she wasn’t okay with the ad going up in the first place. In fact, the person who gave the green light reportedly didn’t have the authority to do so.
In a new report from Variety, a representative from Suno shared that the team was deeply excited to work with Mary J. Blige. Consequently, they reached out to someone who “presented themselves as Ms. Blige’s official representative.” “As soon as we learned this was not the case, and that Ms. Blige was uncomfortable, we terminated the advertising campaign,” they said in a statement.
Currently, there’s no word from Mary J. Blige’s camp on the controversy surrounding the Suno ad.
Mary J. Blige Gets Suno Ad Taken Down After Controversy Online
Whether Blige actually cosigns the use of AI remains a bit unclear. What we know for sure is that Suno and similar technology are dividing generations of musicians. For instance, back in June 2026, SZA was irate that the music generator was using her music to train its models.
“If you’re a musician and you support this degenerate sh*t? You’re disgusting and there’s NOTHING YOU COULD EVER SAY TO ME TO MAKE THIS OKAY. I hope u have the life u deserve,” she said.
However, contemporaries and artists closer to Mary J. Blige’s age range seem to universally adore it. Dr. Dre, in particular, argued that anyone against this new technology is unimaginative and will inevitably get left behind.
“I had a discussion with a few people a few days ago,” Dr. Dre told The New York Times. “They were against AI, and I’m like, ‘OK, you sound like the person that would have been against the drum machine when it came out.’ Or synthesizers, right? It’s a new tool for creativity. Some people are afraid of learning new things.”
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The post Wait, Does Mary J. Blige Actually Hate AI? Suno Pulls Controversial Ad With R&B Legend After Disapproval appeared first on VICE.
