The popular animated web series Chikn Nuggit, created by Kyra Kupetsky, has amassed a large following under the BuzzFeed Animation Lab production banner. Unfortunately for fans of the series, on March 5, Kupetsky announced her departure from the series, citing BuzzFeed’s intention to feed Chikn Nuggit to generative AI.
On both the Chikn Nuggit X and Bluesky accounts, Kupetsky posted the following statement in two parts:
Hi! It’s Kyra. Creator and voice actor of Chikn Nuggit. I have some incredibly unfortunate news I’m very saddened to deliver.
I will be leaving the show and no longer voicing Chikn. BuzzFeed is going to be requiring Chikn to be fed into AI for a project and I am fully against this. It’s being done despite our stance against it. It’s entirely out of our control and I’m utterly heartbroken.
I am very anti-AI and cannot support this. Thus I am leaving to boycott this. I am so upset it’s come to this and I cannot apologize enough for this happening.
I can’t thank you all ENOUGH for all your incredible support on Chikn Nuggit. As well as the incredible talent of the cast and crew on the show. I love you all so much and this project has been a highlight of my career.
I will continue to update everyone on what’s going to happen as I hear it. If I lose access to this account, please follow me over on @kyraupetsky on Twitter, Bluesky, and Instagram for updates.
AI is NOT being used in any of the episodes online. Nor has it ever been. So no episodes that come out after I leave include AI. We recorded scripts/animated episodes before this situation unfolded. So do not fear, eps are AI free and if that ever changes, you will be told.
The AI is only being used in a project that none of us can talk about because of NDA but none of us are involved. I’m leaving before this project starts.
Everyone on BuzzFeed animation team is against this. It’s a situation that’s out of everyone’s hands.
There is a chance I will be given Chikn potentially in the future, in which case I would continue the show as intended with everyone on board. No AI ever.
In the meantime we have to wait to see what will happen. For now I’ll be doing other projects on my main account.
I will answer questions on this account and my main for as long as I have access to this account.
The first part of the note concludes with an illustration of Chickn angrily running with a “No AI” picket sign. Kupetsky also noted, “Please do not send hate to ANYONE. I just wanted to inform you all what’s going on.” The second part of the note concludes with the same illustration.
At time of writing, both posts have been removed. Kupetsky posted a follow-up message on X stating, “Buzzfeed seems to be deleting my posts also,” which has also been removed. Several accounts have shared Kupetsky’s initial statement image (above).
Chikn Nuggit follows the adventures of the eponymous golden retriever-basset hound mix with distinctly long ears and very large eyes, voiced by Kupetsky. It stands out for its adorable art style and character designs, with shorts akin to animated comic panels where character dialogue appears in speech bubbles. Each one lasts from approximately 15-60 seconds.
This is a developing story. Stay tuned to The Beat for more.
