Ioan Gruffudd warns fans after year-long AI impersonation

Gruffudd described the encounter in an Instagram statement shared on Sunday, November 8. The woman believed the relationship had lasted more than a year and that Gruffudd was cheating on his wife, Bianca Wallace. He said the messages and images came from an impersonator, not from him, and warned that other fans could be targeted.

According to Gruffudd, the woman was contacted through a Facebook page dedicated to the CBS drama “Elsbeth,” in which he played musician Angus Oliphant-Donnachaidh in 2025. The person gave her a phone number and asked her to move the conversation to Telegram, where they sent AI-generated images and videos as supposed proof of the relationship. Gruffudd called the material “explicit and disturbing.” He has not identified the woman.

The actor said the impersonator never asked her for money. He initially warned followers not to send money to people claiming to be him, then clarified that the case did not involve financial fraud. Wallace reposted his statement and described the person behind the deception as a “predator/abuser.”

Speaking to TMZ at Los Angeles Airport on Monday, November 9, Gruffudd called for tighter regulation of AI and said he hoped the person responsible would be prosecuted. He confirmed that he had reported the incident to police. The actor said his official Instagram account, @Ioangruffudd, is his only authentic social media presence, and urged anyone contacted by an impersonator to block them and contact authorities.