Deepfake Videos Falsely Depict Jake Paul Coming Out as Gay
AI-generated deepfake videos created with OpenAI's Sora tool showed YouTuber Jake Paul falsely coming out as gay in October 2025, going viral on TikTok with over 1.5 million likes on one video. Many viewers were fooled by the realistic videos, which depicted Paul in makeup, Pride flags, and ballet costumes. Paul responded by sharing the videos on his own TikTok to promote his energy drink brand Celsius.
What happened
AI-generated deepfake videos created using OpenAI's Sora tool depicted YouTuber Jake Paul coming out as gay, going viral on TikTok in October 2025. The videos showed Paul in makeup, Pride flags, ballet costumes, and speaking about his sexuality, with one video receiving over 1.5 million likes.
Paul responded by sharing several of the deepfake videos on his own TikTok account with the caption 'AI is getting out of hand' to promote his energy drink brand Celsius.
Reported impact
Many TikTok viewers were fooled by the extremely realistic videos, with commenters expressing concern that they could not distinguish the deepfakes from authentic content. One viewer stated they were 'soooooo over' being tricked by the AI video, while another called the technology 'terrifyingly realistic.'
Paul's fiancée Jutta Leerdam expressed disapproval, stating 'I don't like it, it's not funny' and noting that some people believe everything published on the internet.
Index analysis
OpenAI's policy prohibits editing images or videos depicting real individuals without their explicit consent, but the deepfakes were created and shared widely on social media before enforcement action was evident.
The videos appeared to target Paul over his past transphobic comments, according to reporting on the trend.
Classification
Sources and evidence
Sources not yet published
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