The growth of artificial intelligence has resulted in numerous counterfeit videos featuring athletes and celebrities, including LeBron James. Recently, the four-time NBA champion‘s legal representatives issued a cease-and-desist letter to the creators of Interlink AI, a company behind a tool that allowed users to produce videos of NBA players. This action comes as a response to users generating AI-imagery portraying James in false and offensive scenarios.
Some of these manipulated videos and images depicted James as pregnant, prompting concerns over misuse of his likeness. In June, moderators of Interlink AI’s Discord server disclosed that they faced legal challenges related to this issue, leading to decisive changes in their platform.
“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 statement read.
“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.”
The legal pressure from James’ team likely influenced Interlink AI’s decision to halt the use of realistic player images. In addition, Instagram deleted three accounts that published AI-generated visuals of James; however, Meta, Instagram’s parent company, refused to confirm if a cease-and-desist notice had been received from his legal representatives.
AI Content Controversy Surrounds Other Basketball Figures Like Angel Reese
LeBron James stands among the first basketball stars to pursue legal action against AI-generated content creators. Yet, the issue of fake AI images disturbing athletes is not new to the sport. Earlier this year, Angel Reese, known for her performance at LSU, confronted similar abuse when explicit AI-generated images of her circulated on social media.
Reese openly criticized those spreading false images on her social media platform.
“creating fake AI pictures of me is crazy and weird AF!” Reese tweeted.
Later, during her podcast show Unapologetically Angel, Reese revealed her family received some of these manipulated explicit images, initially believing them to be genuine. Such incidents highlight the difficulty in eliminating all fake AI images once they are widely shared.
Legal Action as a Strategy to Halt AI Misuse of Celebrity Images
While figures like Angel Reese acknowledge the challenge of removing all artificial content once it appears online, LeBron James and his team have adopted a more assertive approach by targeting the companies enabling this technology. They hope that confronting the source of these AI tools can reduce the propagation of damaging, fabricated images and videos that misuse his likeness.
This legal move underscores the growing tension between public figures and AI content creators, raising questions about the boundaries of digital content and personal rights. The outcome of James’ legal challenge could set a precedent for how AI-generated representations of athletes and celebrities are regulated going forward, potentially influencing platforms and developers to implement stricter controls over AI-generated media.
Our Reader’s Queries
Q. Does LeBron James sleep 12 hours?
A. Professional athletes use more energy than most people, so they often sleep longer than the usual 8 hours. LeBron James, for example, typically sleeps about 12 hours each night. This is quite remarkable, given that top athletes frequently travel for games, making it challenging to get enough rest.