LeBron James is starting the war against AI as the Los Angeles Lakers star and his legal team have issued cease-and-desist letters targeting individuals and accounts producing AI-generated deepfake videos involving himself and other public figures.
The rapid rise of artificial intelligence has introduced a new, more invasive form of public exposure and even for a man who is no stranger to scrutiny and trolling, it’s now crossing the line.
The content in question includes highly manipulated videos portraying James in fabricated and often degrading scenarios, threatening his image and legacy, two aspects James has carefully preserved throughout his career.
For example, a recent video showed him pregnant with either of the Golden State Warriors’ Steph Curry and Los Angeles Clippers’ James Harden implied to be the father after he ‘gives birth’ in the fake clip.
Although Meta has not officially acknowledged receiving legal correspondence from his team, the social media platform has begun actively removing the offensive material and according to 404Media at least three Instagram accounts have been pulled.
LeBron wins support from NBA analysts
Even veteran NBA analysts and former players such as Kendrick Perkins and Richard Jefferson have backed James’ legal steps too, believing the fake content production has gone too far.
On the Road Trippin’ podcast, Perkins voiced frustration over the growing trend of generating harmful content for attention.
“People are just f**king bored, bro,” Perkins told the Road Trippin’ podcast. “Weird, man… You talk about doing things for clicks, this is the prime example.
“If it is true with Bron, you know, and his team sending out those cease and desists and stopping that s**t, I’m all in for it.
“The one thing that you have in this world besides money, you have one name. One name, bro… Somebody got to set the example for a lot of this bulls**t to stop.”
Whilst Jefferson echoed these concerns, focusing on the broader societal implications of unregulated AI use, as he defends his former teammate by stressing that this issue goes beyond celebrities.
“I just don’t think that that’s always going to be a safe place,” Jefferson said, referring to the internet. “It’s for athletes, it’s for Cooper Flagg.
“It’s for female athletes, and the protections of them to make sure that idiots can’t just be making weird videos and posting them on the internet.”
LeBron echoes Taylor Swift’s anti-AI outrage
James’ actions may be rooted in personal protection, but his response has created a wider ripple effect, spotlighting the growing dangers of synthetic media as legislation makes prove slow to react to the advancements of technology.
In an era where a person’s image can be altered in seconds with a few clicks or voice commands, setting legal and moral boundaries has never been more urgent and LeBron is making sure that urgency is felt.
Another person who considered drawing a line in the stand was Taylor Swift, after a series of images depicting the popstar in sexually compromised positions appeared on X.com, formerly Twitter.
Although she didn’t take public action in the end, her consideration to do so against exploitative images highlighted how real people are affected – especially in the contest of revenge pornography.
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