Case Takeaways
- Swift Legal Response: LeBron’s team issued cease‑and‑desist letters to Interlink AI after it circulated videos showing him pregnant and in a prison scenario with Sean “Diddy” Combs.
- Complex Defenses: Does California’s anti‑SLAPP statute, the federal fair use doctrine, and First Amendment parody protections give creators a legal defense?
By Samuel Lopez – USA Herald
LeBron James’ attorneys have issued cease-and-desist letters against artificial intelligence company Interlink AI and multiple social media accounts after they created and distributed manipulated videos depicting the Lakers superstar in fabricated scenarios, including pregnancy and inappropriate scenes with Sean “Diddy” Combs.
The legal threat compelled several accounts to remove the content immediately or risk further legal action. Interlink AI, the creator of the viral clips, has since eliminated all realistic celebrity depictions from its platform.
The swift legal response also forced other platform changes and removal of similar content, but the underlying legal questions about AI-generated celebrity content remain largely unresolved in American courts.
The controversial videos in question, were created using the Interlink AI tools, which operates on the FlickUpplatform, and placed James in bizarre and fabricated situations including appearing visibly pregnant and in prison scenarios with Diddy. The content, classified as “brainrot“ refers to absurdist, surreal videos that blend celebrities into improbable, scenarios, which for Lebron, spread rapidly across TikTok, Instagram, and Discord before James’ legal team intervened.
Interlink AI has since scrubbed all likenesses of James from their platform, demonstrating the swift enforcement power of well-executed legal threats in the digital content space.
