Sophia Bush says a conference she attended was valuable—while denying any meaningful connection to billionaire Peter Thiel’s alleged invite-only society Dialog after a leak tied her name to it.
Sophia Bush didn’t wait long to respond after a report linked her to billionaire Peter Thiel’s alleged invite-only society, Dialog.
The report published a list of names it said were included in a leak from the society’s website “code,” with Bush named among several people. Joseph Gordon-Levitt had already responded to being named as well.
Dialog, according to a line from the organization’s website, is where “leaders join Dialog to discuss topics off-the-record.”
For Thiel. the name attached to the story comes with an unmistakable public profile: he is an openly-gay entrepreneur and investor who co-founded PayPal and Palantir Technologies. He has supported Republican candidates and causes. including Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. and was also an early and significant supporter of JD Vance. supporting his 2022 U.S. Senate campaign.
In her response, Bush addressed how she came to be at the conference and why she says the Thiel connection doesn’t apply.
On Threads. she wrote that she goes to many conferences and had accepted nearly every invitation she received “to discuss ANOTHER BODY — the documentary Nia and I executive produced that explains and demands action be taken against Al deepfake abuse — and the DEFIANCE Act. ” legislation she said she has championed for years “to help hold criminals accountable and protect women and girls (97% of the victims of deepfake abuse) with it.”.
She said she was surprised that a conference she attended as a guest—she described it as one where she could counter an “it’s-all-progress” narrative about a “runaway Al race”—was founded by someone she “could not pay” to be in a room with.
To clarify what happened at the event, Bush said the person she referenced “was not present,” “was never brought up” during her experience, and that, as she learned afterward, he “has not been involved whatsoever in approximately 15 years.”
Bush then laid out what she says guides her choices. “My values are very clear and consistent,” she wrote, adding that she works “to protect families—by defending democratic institutions and safeguarding basic human rights.”
She also defended her decision to attend even if, in hindsight, she should have researched more. “I did wish I would have researched the event beforehand. ” she wrote. “but even if I had. I probably still would have gone. ” because she believes “having women standing up for women (and ringing alarm bells about our common and dangerous experiences with emerging technology) in rooms like these is of paramount importance.”.
Bush said she wanted “people to have that conversation” and to “demand that they protect us.” She added that by the time she left the event early—she said she had to fly to NC for another commitment—she felt she had been heard and that she had also listened. She wrote that she saw diverse perspectives discussed around tables.
She ended her statement by saying she is proud of the values she brought into the conversations at the conference, and that she feels the same about the other artists and activists she attended with.
Bush also replied to a number of comments following her statement.
Sophia Bush Peter Thiel Dialog society Joseph Gordon-Levitt Threads statement AI deepfake abuse DEFIANCE Act Nia Another Body documentary JD Vance Donald Trump 2016 Palantir Technologies PayPal leak from society website