Kate Ceberano fumes over teary-eyed Sam Neill tribute: 'I nearly threw up'

Kate Ceberano has expressed her disgust after stumbling upon an AI-generated image of herself and late friend Sam Neill.

The singer, 59, slammed the image in an Instagram post on Monday, telling her fans she nearly 'threw up' when she first saw it. 

The deepfake image shows the Brave hitmaker crying on a couch while holding a phone displaying the image of herself hugging Neill. 

It was accompanied by text claiming Ceberano was reacting to the pair's 'last photo' together.

'Kate Ceberano mourned her dead friend Sam Neill by sharing their final photo together from his last public appearance at the Sydney Awards,' it read. 

'What the actual…!!!!!! My first interaction with an AI version of myself. I nearly threw up,' she began her caption.

'I feel sorry to the good people who wrote meaningful comments to this specious post. You were tricked and I kinda think this is just the beginning. I'm speechless!!!!!!' 

Her post was met with similar outrage from her followers, including MasterChef Australia host Poh Ling Yeow who wrote: 'This is just nuts Katie - as soon as I sighted that it felt wrong. Thanks for flagging. Love u x.'

Radio presenter Bianca Dye concurred: 'Oh my God, as soon as I saw that photo I thought that doesn't sound like something Kate would do! Wow', while American actress Jenna Elfman simply commented: 'Ugggghhhhhh wow'. 

The image was uploaded by popular Facebook page Golden Era Hollywood, which regularly shares AI-generated photos of celebrities.  

The page accompanied the image with a lengthy caption about Ceberano's bond with Neill. 

'Kate Ceberano's final photograph with Sam Neill has become a deeply emotional memory,' the page wrote. 

'The two looked happy as they enjoyed the evening together, never knowing it would be their last public moment.

'After his passing, she remembered the laughter and warmth they shared, honouring not only the celebrated actor the world admired, but the kind and genuine friend she was fortunate to know.'

The post garnered hundreds of well-wishing comments, with one user writing: 'I'm so sorry for the loss of your dear friend, I think we're all grieving, I've been watching some of his films, a national treasure is a cliche but in this case it's true. RIP.' 

'Beautiful Kate, it's so sad I love you both,' another wrote. 

The page has also uploaded similar AI-generated posts of other Aussie celebrities crying following Neill's death - including Nicole Kidman and his journalist ex Laura Tingle.

The Jurassic Park star died on July 13, aged 78, from pneumonia - just three months after revealing he was finally cancer-free following his battle with stage three angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, a rare form of blood cancer.

Family described his death as 'sudden and unexpected' in a statement published on his Instagram page. 

'It is with immense sadness that the whānau (family) of Sam Neill share the news of his passing on Monday 13 July, in Sydney, Australia. Sam was surrounded by family and passed with the dignity that has characterised his whole life,' they said.

'The loss was sudden and unexpected but blessed by the fact that Sam remained cancer-free. They would like to express their deepest gratitude to the staff at St Vincent's Private Hospital for their incredible care.

'More details will be shared later, but for now, on behalf of the family, we ask that you respect their privacy as they navigate this immeasurable loss.'