A viral image of actress Zendaya with a baby bump has gone viral on social media, and so did speculation that she and actor Tom Holland are having their first child together. But it has been confirmed that the photos were fake and created using Artificial Intelligence (AI), so all the pregnancy rumours were wrong.
The manipulated image spread on social media quickly, and a lot of people believed it was a recent picture of the celebrity couple. It caused a lot of speculation about a possible pregnancy, and so it got the fans and entertainment followers confused. Zendaya and Tom Holland are not pregnant; there’s no evidence of that.
The viral image was taken from an older image taken in 2023 that included the couple on a romantic walk through London’s streets. In the real picture, Zendaya is not pregnant, and there’s no sign of a baby bump. The original picture shows a close-up of the two together, and Tom Holland is fondly kissing Zendaya’s hand as they walk side by side.
Experts who looked at the viral image said AI technology had been used to digitally change Zendaya’s appearance so that she looks like she’s pregnant. The incident underlines the challenge faced by increasingly sophisticated AI-generated content, which can make fake images appear very realistic and hard to differentiate from real photographs.
Zendaya and Tom Holland have been targeted for AI-generated misinformation in the past too, of course. For years, the couple has been at the centre of viral lies based on manipulated images. One of the most prominent instances of fake wedding photos was posted online, so many people believed the couple was secretly married.
The actors later explained that those wedding images were also manufactured by AI. Tom Holland even joked about the situation through interviews, saying that his own grandmother saw the pictures and briefly thought they were real. Holland said she wondered why she had not been invited to the supposed wedding after viewing the viral images.
Zendaya has also spoken out publicly about AI-generated misinformation. In an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live, she described how convincing some of the fake images appeared and how many people were fooled by them. The actress recalled hearing from fans who praised her for events that never happened, and that AI-generated content can be so easy to blur reality and fiction.
The latest pregnancy rumour has once again raised questions about the misuse of artificial intelligence in the entertainment industry. And as AI image-generation tools become more and more widely available, celebrities are increasingly finding themselves at the centre of false narratives made out of manipulated photos and videos. Such content can spread quickly online before fact-checkers and news organisations have a chance to verify its authenticity.
Zendeya baby bump 🥰isnt she the cutest ❤️ pic.twitter.com/NCItKnm8hF
— naughty_mércyy❤️🍑 (@naughty_mercyy) August 5, 2026
Despite the viral rumours, Zendaya and Tom Holland remain focused on their careers. The couple remains one of Hollywood's most popular celebrity couples and has enjoyed significant success at the global box office. Zendaya has recently been linked to major film projects like The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day, both of which have contributed to her continued rise as one of the industry’s leading stars.
The box office figures indicate that Zendaya's movies have brought in over $2 billion worldwide, and Tom Holland's recent projects have made over $1.8 billion. They have become Hollywood's most influential and bankable celebrity couple, and their commercial success has only solidified them as they are.
For now, fans can put the pregnancy rumours to rest as the viral baby bump photograph has been verified to be AI-generated and is not related to reality. It’s a reminder of why we need to verify what we read online before we believe it is true.
