Latest news with #RusselBrand
IOL News
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- IOL News
AI filters gone wrong: the outrageous trend sexualising Down syndrome
Content creators are using AI-generated filters to mimic the facial features associated with Down syndrome and some are attaching links to monetised content platforms, offering explicit material to paying subscribers. Image: Pexels There's a new filter doing the rounds on social media and it's not just controversial, it's disturbing. While platforms like Snapchat have long popularised playful filters. Who remembers the puppy ears? flower crowns? But the latest trend crosses a serious line: creators are using AI to make themselves appear as if they have Down syndrome, often in hypersexualised or suggestive videos. The trend, which has gained traction over the past few weeks, features creators asking questions like 'Is Down syndrome a dealbreaker for you?' or 'Would you date a girl with Down syndrome?' However, the individuals in these videos do not actually have Down syndrome. They're using AI-generated filters to mimic the facial features associated with the condition, and some are attaching links to monetised content platforms, offering explicit material to paying subscribers. In April, Google Trends recorded a spike in searches such as 'AI Down syndrome,' 'Down syndrome fitness girl,' and 'Down syndrome beautiful girl,' reflecting how curiosity, fetishisation, and misinformation are being amplified by this content. What began as a technological gimmick has devolved into what many are calling the commodification of disability. According to Dr Amy Gaeta, a research associate at the University of Cambridge, 'To use the image of another subject is using that subject position as a shield and means of profit. This is the commodification of disability.' Indeed, the captions and tone of the content leave little to the imagination. Posts read, 'Why can't I be sexy with Down syndrome?' or 'Bro, I never again on Tinder, she has Down syndrome,' reflecting a disturbing trend of using disability as a provocative costume rather than engaging with real-life issues people with disabilities face. Russel Brand wrote on Instagram: "There's a DISTURBING new trend: Al-generated*nlyF*ns (only fans) content featuring filters that mimic Down syndrome. When everything becomes content, even empathy and dignity get commodified." It's not only tasteless but dangerous too. This content reduces a marginalised community to a fetish, reinforcing harmful stereotypes and contributing to ongoing ableism. It undermines efforts made by advocates and individuals with Down syndrome who work tirelessly for visibility, dignity, and acceptance. While social media is often praised for giving marginalised communities a platform, this trend reveals its darker underbelly. The line between representation and mockery is just blurred. Additionally, his trend taps into a niche yet concerning area of sexual fetishisation known as "devotism". This term describes a sexual attraction to disabilities, where individuals, termed "devotees", are attracted to the impairments themselves rather than the person. Such attractions can range from benign preferences to paraphilic disorders, where the disability becomes the primary source of sexual arousal. Reports suggest that by sexualising the appearance of individuals with Down syndrome, it reinforces dangerous notions that can lead to real-world consequences, including increased vulnerability to abuse and further marginalisation.
Express Tribune
04-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Russell Brand appears in court on rape charges
Russel Brand, 49, who became known internationally after forging a career in Britain with his risque comedy routines and as the husband of pop star Katy Perry, was charged last month. He faces two counts of rape, two of sexual assault and one of indecent assault. Arriving for the first court hearing in the case, Brand made his way slowly through a crush of media and onlookers gathered outside the court. The celebrity, dressed casually in a dark coloured open-necked shirt and jeans, spoke only to confirm his details before being granted bail and ordered to appear in court again on May 30. In a video response on X after he was charged, Brand denied all the alleged offences and said he was "grateful" for the "opportunity" to defend himself. "I was a fool before I lived in the light of the Lord. I was a drug addict, a sex addict and an imbecile, but what I never was was a rapist. I've never engaged in non-consensual activity," he said in the video. Prosecutors charged him after a police investigation into allegations following a broadcast of a Channel 4 documentary in September 2023. The charges relate to offences alleged to have taken place between 1999 and 2005 involving four women. Brand is charged with the rape of a woman in 1999 in the Bournemouth area on England's south coast, as well as the oral rape and sexual assault of a woman in 2004 in the Westminster area of central London. He has also been charged with indecently assaulting a woman in 2001 and sexually assaulting another woman between 2004 and 2005 – – both incidents alleged to have taken place in Westminster. Born in 1975 to working-class parents in Essex, east of London, Brand began his stand-up career as a teenager. He burst onto the scene as a provocative, often lewd comedian before transforming into a Hollywood star, then an anti-establishment guru and conspiracy theorist who has millions of fans online. He presented a show on the BBC's Radio 2 station between 2006 and 2008 but left after an on-air prank when he left a sexually explicit voicemail for "Fawlty Towers" actor Andrew Sachs about his granddaughter. Brand was married to US star Perry for 14 months between 2010 and 2012. He is now married to the author and illustrator Laura Gallacher, with whom he has three children. AFP
