“$61K and a Deepfake: How Matt Barnes Got Duped by AI — And Gilbert Arenas Is SHOOK”

🔥 Drama, Dollars & Deepfakes: The Wild Tale of an AI Extortion Scheme

What Went Down

Matt Barnes — yes, that Matt Barnes — says he got played for $61,000 by someone who wasn’t real. Instead, the person was allegedly an AI-generated “snow bunny” that used deepfake audio, video, and text messages to trick him into looking unfaithful.

Barnes claims that the scammer threatened to leak this fake material — photos, videos, voice notes — unless he paid up. Scared of the fallout (especially since his ex was reportedly pregnant at the time), Barnes allegedly forked over tens of thousands to keep the lies under wraps.

The Reaction: Shock, Side-Eye & “By an AI Snow Bunny?”

Enter Gilbert Arenas, former NBA star turned podcast hot seat. On a recent episode of his show, when he heard Barnes got “finessed out of $61,000,” he froze — then laughed in disbelief. “By an AI snow bunny? No, y’all playing. … If I’m paying sixty thousand, I’m getting whatever you’re selling,” he snapped.

Arenas made it clear: if he were dropping that kind of money, he’d want “something real.” Not just smoke and mirrors. He implied that paying for silence only makes sense if there’s actual goods — not a digital fantasy.

The Fallout: Lawsuits, Reputations, and the Strange New World of AI-Assisted Scams

Barnes says he’ll sue infamous gossip blogger Tasha K for posting allegedly AI-fabricated content that painted him in a false light. He claims Tasha K dropped the “fake receipts” without fact-checking.

But as of now — no official filing. And many remain skeptical. Deepfakes are becoming dangerously good, and the idea that a former NBA baller might fall victim to one — for over sixty grand — is wild, embarrassing, and deeply depressing.