LeBron James has taken legal action against an artificial intelligence company after it created and circulated digitally altered videos depicting him in compromising situations with Diddy.
Attorneys for the Los Angeles Lakers superstar reportedly issued cease-and-desist letters to Interlink AI and several Instagram accounts that shared the altered content. The videos, which spread across services like TikTok, Instagram and Discord, placed James in odd and completely fabricated situations. Some of the situations included being visibly pregnant and in a prison cell with Diddy.
The action forced multiple accounts to delete content or shut down entirely. Interlink AI, the company behind the viral clips, also removed all realistic depictions of celebrities from its platform.
The AI-generated videos were what is considered “brainrot” content. “Brainrot” is a more modern term used to describe surreal clips that place celebrities (and/or fictional characters) in peculiar situations. In James’ case, the videos included the aforementioned clips depicting him with a baby bump and interacting with Diddy in imaginary scenes.
LeBron James ”Not Like Us”
If you’re familiar with AI-generated content, the veracity of these videos (or lack thereof) was never in question. However, Interlink AI’s posts did spark a bit of debate around the ethics of generative AI.
On X (formerly Twitter), the announcement resulted in a bit of a Streisand effect. Many fans did not know the extent to which these videos were being produced. As a result, several social media users began to discover the videos, which led to clips of a digitally altered LeBron James populating the replies of most posts documenting this legal action.
Of course, LeBron James is known for having a heavily curated public image. As such, it makes sense that he would not want such bizarre AI-generated videos out there. Whether the legal action will have the desired effect remains to be seen. But, it did cause Interlink to change their content approach.
James was recently caught dancing to “Not Like Us” on vacation, an action that will surely exacerbate his tensions with former friend Drake. He will be entering his 23rd (and possibly final) NBA season in October.
