Mara Wilson Warns AI-Generated Abuse Images Put Women and Children at Risk

Former child star Mara Wilson is speaking out about the lasting trauma of having her image used in child sexual abuse material (CSAM) — and why she believes generative artificial intelligence is making the problem far worse.

In a personal essay published in The Guardian on Saturday, Jan. 17, the 38-year-old actress and writer described her experience as a “living nightmare” and warned that new AI tools are making sexual exploitation easier, faster, and more widespread than ever.

‘I Always Felt Safe on Set — But Not With the Public’

Wilson, best known for her roles in Matilda and Mrs. Doubtfire, said she felt protected while working in Hollywood as a child. The real danger, she explained, came from public access to her image.

From ages 5 to 13, Wilson was a highly visible child actor. During that time, she discovered that her photos had been taken from the internet, altered, and shared on fetish websites — long before she even reached high school.

“I’d been featured on fetish websites and Photoshopped into pornography,” Wilson wrote, recalling how adult men also sent her disturbing letters. “It didn’t matter that those images ‘weren’t me.’ It was a painful, violating experience.”

AI Makes Exploitation Easier Than Ever

Wilson warned that generative AI has dramatically increased the risk of sexual exploitation for all children, not just celebrities. Unlike earlier forms of image manipulation, AI now allows users to create realistic explicit images using nothing more than a child’s face — often taken from social media.

“It is now infinitely easier for any child whose face has been posted on the internet to be sexually exploited,” she wrote. “Millions of children could be forced to live my same nightmare.”

She emphasized that accessibility is what predators look for — and that the internet, combined with powerful AI tools, provides exactly that.

Calling for Accountability and New Laws

Now a writer and mental health activist, Wilson urged readers to take action. She called for stronger legislation, technological safeguards, and corporate accountability for companies whose AI systems allow the creation of exploitative sexual content.

She also encouraged consumers to boycott platforms that fail to prevent abuse and to pressure lawmakers to treat AI-generated CSAM with the same seriousness as other forms of sexual exploitation.

A Warning for Parents

Wilson ended her essay with a message directed at families, acknowledging how difficult it is to accept the risks of sharing children’s photos online.

“Nobody wants to think that if they share photos of their child, those images could end up in CSAM,” she wrote. “But it is a risk — one that parents need to protect their young children from, and warn their older children about.”

Her message is clear: without meaningful safeguards, emerging technology could expose an entire generation of children to the same trauma she endured — on an even larger scale.