Mario Lopez Slammed Over ‘Creepy’ AI Video Featuring His…
Actor Mario Lopez faced significant online backlash and criticism after posting an AI-generated video of his niece Kalia Wong at a baseball game
- Incident date
- Jul 2024
- Target
- Kalia Wong
In July 2024, actor Mario Lopez sparked widespread controversy after sharing an AI-generated video of his niece, Kalia Wong, on social media. The incident drew immediate negative reactions from viewers and commentators, leading to the eventual deletion of the post.
What happened
The controversy began after Lopez attended a Los Angeles Dodgers game against the Boston Red Sox with his niece, Kalia Wong, who is also known as YaYa. While Lopez initially shared a standard clip from the stadium, he followed it with an AI-generated video that viewers found unsettling. The footage depicted a fictionalized version of Wong struggling to eat two loaded hot dogs, eventually spilling mustard on her face and jersey. The video also featured an AI-generated version of Lopez remarking, "I can't take her anywhere."
The reaction to the post was swift and critical. Journalist Yashar Ali characterized the video as "creepy," while Barstool Sports personality Dan Katz expressed blunt disbelief. Many social media users argued that the content was inappropriate and inconsistent with the family-man image Lopez has cultivated throughout his career. Before the post was removed, it had accumulated approximately three million views. Neither Lopez nor Wong has publicly addressed the backlash or the nature of the video since its removal.