LeBron Trying to Stop Viral AI Videos of Him Pregnant

LeBron James is reportedly unhappy with bizarre AI videos showing him as if he were pregnant and has called in lawyers. This is one of the first times a celebrity has threatened legal action against an AI company.

According to a report by 404 Media, James’ representatives have sent a cease and desist letter to an individual associated with an AI platform that enabled Discord users to create videos of James and other basketball players.

Users of a platform called FlickUp have reportedly been creating strange AI videos of James for months, but one particularly unusual clip appears to have prompted legal intervention. The video, which 404 reports gained millions of views on Instagram, depicts a pregnant James being placed in an ambulance after telling an AI version of Steph Curry, “Come quick, our baby is being born.”

At least three Instagram accounts that posted the video have since been taken down, though the clip remains accessible on X. The AI platform’s founder also publicly acknowledged receiving the cease and desist letter. The contents of the letter remain unclear, and it’s unknown whether James’ legal team has contacted Meta directly about the videos.

“A couple of weeks ago, we received a cease and desist letter from LeBron James’ attorney about one of our creators, Interlink AI. In collaboration with Interlink, we had been promoting an AI model trained on LeBron James and a few other iconic basketball players,” Jason Stacks, the founder of FlickUp, tells 404 Media.

“Within 30 minutes of receiving the cease and desist, we made the decision to remove all realistic people from Interlink AI’s software. Generative AI is the ‘wild west’ when it comes to copyright and IP, but we’re committed to being on the right side of that change.”

James is not the only public figure dealing with unauthorized AI representations. Fake celebrity content is often used on social media to promote scams and misleading products. Past incidents have included deepfakes involving Taylor Swift and Elon Musk.

However, the videos involving James differ from typical scams. Rather than promoting products, they are viral videos designed for engagement so that the creators can make money.

Engadget reports that creating similar AI-generated content is relatively easy. And even safeguards placed on commercial generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Gemini can be easily skirted.

Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.