Seth MacFarlane uses artificial intelligence to become the creepy Bill Clinton clone
The latest installment of the show about everyone’s favorite foul-mouthed CGI bear, “Ted,” premiered on Peacock on Thursday, and fans noticed a presidential cameo that turned out to be series creator Seth MacFarlane employing the use of AI for an incredible impersonation of Bill Clinton.
In the season’s fifth episode, titled “The Sword in the Stoner,” the series’ out-of-touch, Boston-accented dad, Matty Bennett (Scott Grimes), is forced to take a job at the local Dunkin’ Donuts in Massachusetts. That’s when MacFarlane, as the eerily accurate, AI-assisted incarnation of the 42nd president, enters the store. Watch the clip here.
Peacock, Ted Season 2
Although AI gave MacFarlane, also the voice of the main character, Clinton’s strange appearance, the voice is largely all his, as it has been for many years.
“I’ve been doing my Bill Clinton impression since the early days of ‘Family Guy,'” MacFarlane told the News. “It’s an interesting example of how AI can be used as a tool and not necessarily trample on the art that the rest of the industry is doing. We tried prosthetics, we tried traditional CGI, and it all looked scary. So we just said, ‘Screw this, let’s try AI.’ It worked. It was the only way to look like Bill Clinton.”
via News
The setting of the show’s second season is 1994-1995 (the characters learn about the OJ Simpson verdict in the season finale), a timeline in which Clinton would be firmly established in the Oval Office.
In the scene, Clinton asks Matty for a recommendation on what to order, prompting Matty to let the commander in chief know what he thinks of his job as president.
“I would recommend you do a better job,” Matty says, stuttering nervously. “You’re not doing a very good job.”
Clinton responds quite cordially before dismissing her Secret Service team and demanding that Matty “throw some damn Munchkins in a bag, give me a cup of coffee, shake my hand, and smile at the window, so people know we’re having a good time.”
Many viewers expressed disappointment at the use of AI, which has caused fear within the entertainment industry that the technology could replace human performers.
“Why not get a decent Bill Clinton impersonator?” wrote a user on X.
“Honestly, he looks horrible. It looks like he’s being dubbed in English and the face can barely express an emotion. It would be better if the actor dressed like him,” wrote another.
However, others defended the use of the technology.
“Using AI in this way has never bothered me nor should it bother anyone else. They are using a real production crew, writers, lighting, actors, set, etc. and just using a few tools on top to sell the final image. This is really no different than what Photoshop did in the ’90s,” one user wrote.
“Ted” is a spin-off of the 2012 film of the same name starring Mark Wahlberg and MacFarlane as John Bennett and the voice of Ted, respectively. It became a surprise hit on Peacock after its 2024 premiere, with Max Burkholder taking over Wahlberg’s role as the younger version of Bennett.
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