On top of all the legal charges Johnny Somali already has pressed against him, he was sued by Korean IRL streamer bongbong for using deepfake AI to depict him kissing her. She has decided to stop pursuing legal action, but the Korean government may prosecute him for it instead.
And, while the original stream that Johnny showed the video on was deleted, we do still have small snippets and screenshots of it.
Beyond the uncanny nature of the kiss giving it away, you could also see a deepfake AI logo in the bottom right corner of his laptop as he showed the video to his stream and bragged about having a Korean girlfriend.
A now-deleted stream from bongbong depicted her filing a complaint against Johnny Somali at the Cheongwon Police Department in relation to the contents of the video. But, she has since decided not to press charges against him.
It is worth noting that these two did stream together, and that may be part of why she chose not to press charges. Reuploaded footage from that stream shows her calling Johnny Somali a “monkey” and making other offensive remarks toward him.
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However, this may not matter, as these charges against Johnny Somali still stand despite her dropping the case. It wouldn’t be bongbong pressing the case, but the South Korean government itself.
According to Reuters, a bill that passed on September 26, 2024 makes it so that those who possess sexually explicit deepfakes of other individuals may be hit with up to seven years of jail time and a fine of around $22k USD.
This is entirely separate from all the other charges this streamer has stacked against him including defacing a monument meant to memorialize victims of sexual slavery in World War II and alleged drug abuse.
He has since apologized for his actions, but that apology has fallen on deaf ears as he’s been barred from leaving the country.
