Esquire Singapore responds to criticism over use of AI for Mackenyu story, calls it a ‘deliberate creative decision’

The resulting piece was presented in a question-and-answer format, covering topics such as the actor’s personal boundaries, mental health and family values. The article also disclosed that it was “produced with Claude, Copilot, and edited by humans”.

Online reaction was largely negative. Many users responded in shock, describing the piece as “pretentious”, “dubious” and “an insult to journalism”.

A few compared the interview to the 1966 Esquire article by Gay Talese, Frank Sinatra Has a Cold, a profile which was famously written without direct access to the singer. However, other users argued that the Mackenyu piece differed in its reliance on AI, calling it “lazy journalism” and lacking creativity.

Advertising news platform Marketing Interactive reported that the backlash comes amid declining public trust in media. Citing data from media analytics software Carma, it said sentiment around the article was “overwhelmingly critical”, with 83.3 per cent negative, 14.5 per cent neutral and 2.2 per cent positive responses.

Marketing Interactive added that the controversy highlighted broader concerns about “consent and representation, trust and erosion of credibility, and labour and craft”, noting that keywords such as “violate” and “morals” appeared frequently in online discussions.