Prom Pact Digital Extras Controversy

Submission 5,562

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Overview

Prom Pact Digital Extras Controversy refers to the discussion and subsequent controversy surrounding a clip from the Disney Channel original film Prom Pact in which a row of digital models are seen filling out a crowd at a high school basketball game. Though it saw attention at the time of the film's March 2023 release, it was revisited after an October 2023 tweet that made the point that such scenes are what actors were striking against.

Background

Prom Pact released on the Disney Channel on March 30th, 2023. On April 1st, TikToker kelseykid_^[1] pointed out how in one scene, the crowd at a basketball game had a very noticeable row of digital figures instead of actors. The post gained over 345,000 likes in six months (shown below). The TikTok was also covered by Disney Fanatic^[2] and The Independent.^[3]

Developments

Chatter about the TikTok died down over the following months, but it reappeared in social media discourse after an October 12th, 2023, tweet by user caiden_reed,^[4] which reposted the kelseykid_'s TikTok and added, "Reminder this is what SAG-AFTRA is fighting against." The tweet gained over 3,600 retweets and 13,000 likes in one day (shown below, left).

Later that day, the Twitter account @DiscussingFilm^[5] posted about the connection, adding, "Disney & other studios have been digitally scanning background actors and are now using their digital likeness in various movies & TV shows without payment or permission," gaining over 2,100 retweets and 8,800 likes in one day (shown below, right).

The connection made between the scene and the actor's strike led to renewed discourse about the use of digital models in the film.

For example, on October 12th, X / Twitter user @MoreAndAgain^[6] criticized Disney for using CGI models instead of cheap teen actors, gaining over 100 retweets and 870 likes in less than a day (shown below, left). Also on the 12th, user @BittrScrptReadr^[7] made a similar point, gaining over 70 retweets and 520 likes in the same timeframe (shown below, right).