LeBron James sends cease & desist to AI video company using him to make “brainrot”

LeBron James has requested the AI company, which gained popularity for creating “brainrot” videos featuring him in NBA scenarios, to stop all such activities, as indicated by a legal letter he sent them.

During much of the year 2025, countless TikTok users found themselves scrolling through AI-generated clips featuring a virtual Lebron James dominating their For You Page.

As a devoted admirer, let me share an intriguing instance: Back in February, a video surfaced online that featured none other than James himself, transformed as a mermaid gracefully gliding through the ocean, accompanied by ‘Under the Sea’ from The Little Mermaid. These viral videos caught my hero’s eye and sparked his legal interest, aiming to prevent such AI-generated content from exploiting his likeness.

LeBron James hits out at AI company behind “brainrot” videos

404Media reports that members of the Interlink AI Discord community were actively teaching themselves to generate AI videos featuring LeBron James, which they subsequently posted on TikTok. Notably, several of these posts gained significant popularity and went viral.

By mid-June, it was announced that moderators had chosen to take down all “human-like AI models” from the platform.

Following some legal troubles concerning a prominent basketball player, we’ve encountered, we’ve opted to address potential future issues by completely erasing any lifelike representations of this figure from our platform,” the moderator explained in a Discord update.

They verified through Jason Stacks, the founder of Interlink AI’s parent company FlickUp, that it was indeed LeBron James who was being referred to as the basketball player. He additionally announced this information via a post on Instagram.

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A post shared by Jason Stacks (@iamjasonstacks)

It’s not unprecedented that individuals have taken issue with AI firms utilizing their likeness without consent. In fact, back in October 2024, renowned Tech YouTuber Marques Brownlee publicly criticized a company for doing just that – using his image without his explicit approval for advertisements.

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2025-07-24 18:18