Hannah Einbinder went on stage at a Hacks press event this week and said this about people who use AI to create:
"The people who make this stuff are losers. They're not artists. They're not creative. And they've wanted their whole lives to be special. And they're not special. So, they're trying to rob real creative people of our gifts. And you can't. And even if you try, you will never be cool. You guys suck. No one likes you."
That's a direct quote. From an actress promoting Season 5 of her HBO show. About people she's never met, whose work she's never seen, whose circumstances she knows nothing about.
I'll be upfront: I've never heard of Hannah Einbinder.
I've never watched Hacks.
I have no idea if she's funny (if I had to guess, based on this I would say no).
What I do know is that she stood at a press junket — an event designed to promote a show someone else created — and called a bunch of strangers losers. So let's talk about that.
Who Exactly Are You Talking To?
When Einbinder says "the people who make this stuff," who does she think she's describing?
Because in my experience, it's not some monolithic group of tech bros trying to steal her job.
It's a retired teacher making digital art for the first time. It's a small business owner who can't afford a design agency. It's a kid in a country where access to creative education barely exists, using AI to learn visual storytelling. It's a neurodivergent person who always had the ideas but never had the tools to execute them at the speed their brain moves.
Those are the "losers" she's talking about.
People who are curious. People who are learning in public. People who finally found a way to make the thing they've been imagining for years.
And she wants them to know they'll never be cool.
What Does Hannah Einbinder Actually Do?
Now, I believe in reciprocating energy so consider what comes next just that.
If you're going to call an entire category of creators "losers" and declare they're "not artists," you should probably have a body of work that backs up that kind of authority.
So let's look at it.
Hannah Einbinder is an actress. Her mom is Laraine Newman, an original SNL cast member — so she grew up in the industry, surrounded by connections and access most people will never have. She's primarily known for one role: Ava Daniels on Hacks. She won an Emmy in 2025 for it.
But here's what she does as an actress: she pretends to be someone else.
Other people write her lines.
Other people tell her where to stand.
Other people created the show, built the sets, designed the costumes, ran the cameras.
A director tells her what emotion to convey.
A marketing team promotes the work.
She shows up and performs a character that other people invented.
I'm not saying that's not a skill.
But it doesn't make you the authority on who gets to call themselves creative. And it damn sure doesn't give you the right to call people losers from a stage that someone else built for you.
A hard pill to swallow is that the title of "artist" is self-bestowed. It always has been.
Whether you just picked up a paintbrush last Tuesday or you've been at it for forty years — you gave yourself that title. Nobody handed it to you. Einbinder gave it to herself the same way the Midjourney user in their spare bedroom did. The only difference is she had a head start (through nepotism) and an HBO platform to yell from.
The Part That Actually Bothers Me
What gets me isn't that a celebrity has a hot take on AI. Celebrities have bad takes constantly. What gets me is the specific language: "They've wanted their whole lives to be special. And they're not special."
Think about what that does to someone who's just getting started.
Someone who spent three hours last night figuring out how to use Midjourney to visualize a children's book they've been dreaming about writing.
Someone who used Claude to help them structure a screenplay they've had in their head for a decade.
Someone who finally — finally — has access to tools that let them participate in creative work that used to require expensive software, formal training, or knowing the right people.
And now a privileged actress on a stage is telling them they're a loser who will never be cool.
That's not protecting art. That's a gatekeeper with a loser's attitude, punching down from a position of privilege she was born into.
What She Could Have Said Instead
Einbinder could have said "I worry about AI being used to replace working artists without their consent." That's a legitimate concern and I'd agree with it.
She could have said "I think the entertainment industry needs stronger protections for performers and writers." Also legitimate. Also something I'd support.
She could have said "I'm uncomfortable with how quickly this technology is moving and I think we need to have serious conversations about it." Totally fair.
Instead she went with "losers" and "you guys suck" and "no one likes you." Which isn't a position. It's a playground insult from someone who's never had to fight for access to anything in her life.
I'll Keep Defending the Curious Ones
Every single person experimenting with AI creatively right now is braver than someone with an Emmy calling strangers losers from a press conference stage.
The person learning in public, sharing work that might not be perfect, figuring it out as they go — they're doing the harder thing. Way harder than reading lines someone else wrote.
You don't have to like AI-assisted work. You don't have to use it. You don't even have to respect it. But when you call the people doing it "losers" who will "never be cool"? You're not the protector of art. You're just another gatekeeper telling people they don't belong.
And in my experience, the people who spend the most energy deciding who's a "real" creative are usually the ones most afraid that the definition is changing.