
At a panel in Zurich last weekend, Van der Velden increased the excitement around Tilly by stating that there was industry interest in her, and that Particle6 planned to announce which agency would be representing her in the coming months. This claim felt like typical startup exaggeration and should have been viewed with skepticism. However, when Deadline called it a “revelation” and reported the supposed interest as fact without checking, the headline (“Talent Agents Circle AI Actress Tilly Norwood”) quickly spread and became a major news story. By Monday, other industry publications picked up the story, and it grew rapidly by Tuesday. Variety even asked Emily Blunt about Norwood during a podcast; when shown a picture of the avatar, she reacted negatively: “Come on, agencies, don’t do that. Please stop taking away our human connection.” Whoopi Goldberg, Melissa Barrera, and others expressed similar disapproval, and SAG-AFTRA issued a statement condemning the idea of agencies signing a synthetic performer.