Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai have been fielding divorce rumours since a few months now. While the couple stays mum, every move of theirs is being closely observed by social media sleuths.

And now, a notorious deepfake video has emerged on social media, seemingly a clumsy effort to create rifts between the two. Clearly generated by AI tools, the the black and white clip sees Abhishek saying, “This July, Aishwarya and I have decided to get divorced.” The poor lip sync in the clip gives away that the statements are wrongly imposed on an old clip of Abhishek. It was shared by a fan of Aishwarya on social media, with a disclaimer calling out the authenticity of the video.

Calling out the fake video, many fans have come out in support of Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan. Defending the couple, a user wrote, “This is truly sad! How can ppl be so insensitive to use fake voice and dub a video like this? How uncomfortable for Aishwarya and her daughter to have to go through such nonsense online and brainless people offering their sympathy and reasoning.” Another social media user wrote, “This video can never be authentic but the only thing that there are such people who’s eagerly waiting for your divorce with Abhishek….We all wish you to be continued with Abhishek with lots of blessings. You are the one who’s in billions of heart being Aishwariya Rai Bachchan.”

Last month, Abhishek and Aishwarya made separate appearances at the grand Ambani wedding, giving rise to rumours of a rift. Adding to the speculation was Abhishek Bachchan’s ‘like’ on a divorce post. However, it was later releveled that Abhishek’s gesture of appreciation was for the doctor, who is a close confidant of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.