Basketball superstar LeBron James has taken legal action against an AI video platform that enabled users to create disturbing deepfake content featuring his likeness, marking a significant moment in the ongoing battle between celebrities and artificial intelligence misuse.
The Los Angeles Lakers icon’s legal team sent a cease-and-desist letter to FlickUp, the company behind Interlink AI, a tool that had become notorious for generating viral videos depicting James in compromising and inappropriate scenarios. The controversial content included videos showing an AI-generated James as pregnant, homeless, and in other demeaning situations that spread rapidly across social media platforms.
Jason Stacks, founder of FlickUp, confirmed that his company received the legal notice from James’s attorneys at the prestigious law firm Grubman Shire Meiselas & Sacks. The response was swift and decisive.
“A couple weeks ago, we received a cease and desist letter from LeBron James’ attorney about one of our creators, Interlink AI,” Stacks revealed. “Within 30 minutes of receiving the cease and desist, we made the decision to remove all realistic people from Interlink AI’s software.”
The legal action represents one of the first high-profile cases of a celebrity challenging AI companies for enabling nonconsensual imagery creation. Unlike typical deepfake controversies that focus on explicit content, James’s case highlights the broader issue of AI-generated content that damages reputation and dignity without being strictly adult in nature.
The Interlink AI platform had developed specialized models trained specifically on James’s likeness, along with other NBA stars including Stephen Curry, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and Nikola Jokić. The Discord community surrounding the platform provided detailed tutorials for creating videos featuring these players, with some content garnering millions of views on Instagram.
One particularly disturbing video that circulated on social media accumulated over 6.2 million views and even received engagement from celebrities, demonstrating the massive reach these AI-generated videos could achieve. The platform’s moderators had actively promoted their creations, including sharing videos of a pregnant AI-generated James in promotional materials.
Following the legal pressure, Interlink AI’s Discord moderators announced the removal of all realistic human models from their platform. “This change comes after we ran into legal issues involving a highly valued basketball player,” they explained to community members. “To avoid any further complications, we’ve chosen to take a proactive approach and fully remove all realistic likenesses from the site.”
Stacks acknowledged the complex legal landscape surrounding AI-generated content in his response. “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,” he stated.
The FlickUp founder also created an Instagram video discussing the cease-and-desist, briefly showing portions of the legal document. “I’m so fucked. This is a letter from one of the biggest NBA players of all time,” Stacks said in the video, describing how his platform had attracted unwanted attention from James’s legal team.
The fallout extended beyond the AI platform itself. At least three Instagram accounts that had accumulated millions of views through nonconsensual AI videos featuring James have since been deleted by the social media platform. When approached for comment about potential legal pressure from James’s team, Meta declined to respond.
This case highlights the growing tension between emerging AI technology and celebrity rights. As artificial intelligence tools become more sophisticated and accessible, public figures increasingly find themselves targets of unauthorized content creation that can damage their reputation and commercial interests.