Report: AI videos of LeBron and Diddy taken down after cease and desist

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James’ legal team has reportedly taken action over AI-generated content of the 40-year-old.

Some disturbing details were relayed by 404 Media, including descriptions of nonconsensual AI content.

“The creators of an AI tool and Discord community that allowed people to create AI videos of NBA stars says that it got a cease-and-desist letter from lawyers representing LeBron James,” wrote Jason Koebler of 404 Media. “This marks one of the first known times that a high-profile celebrity has threatened legal action against an AI company for enabling the creation of nonconsensual AI imagery of their likeness. It is also one of the first times we’ve seen a celebrity take legal action against a type of nonconsensual but not strictly sexual type of AI-generated content, which is rampant on Instagram and other social media.

“In March, I wrote about ‘Brainrot’ AI that was regularly going viral on Instagram. A lot of the most popular brainrot AI videos featured LeBron James and were created using a tool called Interlink AI, which runs on a larger AI generation platform called FlickUp. On the Interlink AI Discord channel, people were learning how to make the videos with detailed guides that in some cases explained exactly how to make videos of James. High profile creators there were racking up millions of views on Instagram making AI generated videos of James and Steph Curry. These included videos where an AI-generated James stood by as an AI-generated Diddy sexually assaulted Steph Curry in prison, videos of James imagined as a homeless person, videos of James on his knees with his tongue out, and videos of James pregnant.

“In late June, the mods of the Interlink AI Discord community told members that they decided to remove all ‘realistic people models’ from the Interlink AI platform.”

The mods wrote a message on Discord.

“This change comes after we ran into legal issues involving a highly valued basketball player, and to avoid any further complications, we’ve chosen to take a proactive approach and fully remove all realistic likenesses from the site,” the mods wrote. “We know this may be disappointing for some of you who were enjoying the realism in your content, but this move protects the future of the platform and allows us to focus on building something even bigger.”

Jason Stacks, the founder of FlickUp, confirmed to 404 Media that the basketball player in question was James.

“A couple weeks ago, we received a cease and desist letter from LeBron James’ attorney about one of our creators, Interlink AI,” Stacks confirmed. “In collaboration with Interlink, we had been promoting an AI model trained on LeBron James and a few other iconic basketball players. 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 & IP, but we’re committed to being on the right side of that change.”

In addition, multiple Instagram accounts have been deleted after they garnered millions of views on nonconsensual AI videos of James.

“At least three Instagram accounts that had garnered millions of views on nonconsensual AI videos of James have been deleted by Instagram,” Koebler wrote. “When asked by 404 Media whether it had received a cease-and-desist letter from James, Meta refused to comment.”

AI and its uses are becoming increasingly concerning for many amid fears about negative implications. As evidenced by the James situation at hand, AI can certainly lead to harmful outcomes, and hopefully, his legal action will set a precedent.

The situation comes as James is trying to navigate the sunset stages of his NBA career, which could end as soon as next summer. As the older player in the NBA, James doesn’t have too much time left in the league, but he is under contract through the 2025-26 season after he opted into his deal with the Lakers.

Earlier this offseason, there was a lot of talk about the idea of James leaving the Lakers despite his decision to exercise his contract option. Now, that chatter has seemingly died down, and it seems like there are no signs of an imminent split between him and the Lakers.

Hopefully, James’ legal team will be able to sort out the AI matter and let the veteran focus on his immediate and long-term future. But if James were to speak out publicly against the dangers of AI, it’s possible that the message would be received well by some folks who aren’t yet aware of the threats posed by it.

The new NBA campaign won’t begin until the fall, giving James and other players some time off from the grind of the league’s long season.