A photo appearing to show Zendaya pregnant alongside husband Tom Holland fooled thousands online before being confirmed as an AI fabrication, the second time fake images of the couple have spread widely.
The image showed the 29-year-old actress walking through what appeared to be a park with Holland, 30, her midsection visibly rounded beneath her clothing. It spread fast. And it was completely fake. The U.S. Sun confirmed the photo was AI-generated, stating that the real version of the image, taken in London in 2023, showed Zendaya with "a very flat tummy."
Neither Zendaya nor Holland has commented publicly on the fake baby bump photo. As far as available reporting indicates, the couple is not expecting their first child together.
This is not the first time AI-generated images have dragged the couple into a fabricated news cycle. Before the baby bump hoax, fake wedding photos of Zendaya and Holland circulated online, convincing enough to fool people who encountered the couple in person.
Zendaya addressed those fake wedding images during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel's show in March. She did not hold back about how convincing the fakes had become.
"Many people have been fooled by them. While I was, like, just out and about in real life, and people were like, 'Oh my God, your wedding photos are gorgeous.' And I was like, 'Babe, they're AI.'"
Holland's experience was no less absurd. He reportedly joked that his own grandmother saw the AI-generated wedding photos and believed she had not been invited to the ceremony.
The couple, who co-star in the upcoming Spider-Man: Brand New Day, have spent years navigating public fascination with their private lives. AI-generated imagery has made that harder, and faster, than traditional tabloid culture ever could.
Key details remain unknown. No one has identified who created the AI baby bump image or which platform it first appeared on. The specific AI tool or method used to generate it has not been disclosed. The U.S. Sun did not describe its own verification process beyond stating it confirmed the photo was fake by comparing it to the authentic 2023 London image.
That gap matters. Without accountability for the creator, these fakes carry no cost for the person who made them, and enormous personal cost for the people depicted. A fabricated pregnancy rumor is not a harmless prank. It forces public figures into a position where silence fuels speculation and denial dignifies the lie.
Holland and Zendaya have built one of Hollywood's most recognizable partnerships, both on screen and off. Their Spider-Man promotional appearances have drawn massive public attention, and the franchise itself has shattered records, including a $360 million domestic opening weekend for a previous installment.
Holland has also been expanding his career beyond the Marvel franchise, with projects including a Fred Astaire biopic in which he has committed to performing every dance himself.
Two rounds of viral AI fakes targeting the same couple in a matter of months tells a straightforward story. The technology is outpacing the public's ability to spot fabrications, and there is no visible consequence for the people producing them. No platform has claimed responsibility. No creator has been identified. No policy has intervened.
Zendaya told a national television audience that strangers were congratulating her on wedding photos that never happened. Now a fake pregnancy photo has done the same thing on a larger scale. The pattern is clear, and it is accelerating.
When anyone with a laptop can fabricate a celebrity pregnancy and watch it spread unchecked, the problem is not the rumor, it is the total absence of accountability for the people manufacturing them.
