LeBron James Photographed in French Maid Costume?

Claim:

A photograph shared online in late September 2024 authentically showed LeBron James wearing a French maid costume.

In late September 2024, a photograph spread on social media allegedly showing NBA star LeBron James wearing a French maid costume while posing in a mirror.

"Ain't no party like a Diddy party," one X user captioned the supposed selfie (archived), which had amassed more than 36 million views as of this writing.

Other X users wanted to know whether it was real, with one asking: "@KingJames is this really you?"

(X user @IsabellaMDeLuca)

Google reverse image search results indicated the picture had appeared on numerous social media platforms, such as Instagram, YouTube, Threads, Facebook, and 9GAG, since at least late April 2024.

However, because the photo displayed numerous signs of being digitally manipulated, we have rated it as fake.

First, James had no tattoo on his chest in the fake image. As can be seen in a picture on his official Instagram account, the NBA star has body art that goes up to his neck.

Second, James seemed to only have four fingers on his right hand in the fake photo, and an extra fingernail on his left (see picture below). Additionally, objects in the background were oddly shaped and distorted, and James did not appear in the reflection of the mirror behind him.

(X user @IsabellaMDeLuca)

Some AI-detection tools (Is It AI?, AI or Not, Hive) did not conclude that the photo was generated using artificial intelligence, while one, Maybe's AI Art Detector, did. TrueMedia.org concluded there was "substantial evidence of manipulation" and Fakeimagedetector.com, a site that detects digitally manipulated images, also said the picture had been modified, indicating it "Looks like Computer Generated or Modified image."

Though it was not possible to outright determine whether the photograph was AI-generated, there was substantial evidence it had at least been digitally manipulated through either alteration or modification.

(TrueMedia.org)

Lastly, no credible sources or official profiles of James have ever posted the image in question. Likewise, no reputable news outlets have reported that the photo was real.

A similar, fake picture allegedly showing James wearing a maid costume also circulated on social media with one Instagram post captioning it: "Ai is crazy." 

(Instagram user @rapcult)

Snopes has contacted the James' agent, Rich Paul, for comment and will update this article if or when we receive a response.

We have also investigated claims the basketball player, on the day music mogul Diddy was arrested on sex-trafficking charges, said he had a "weird feeling today was the day the feds" would arrest the rapper.

Sources

AI Image Detector - a Hugging Face Space by Umm-Maybe. https://huggingface.co/spaces/umm-maybe/AI-image-detector. Accessed 27 Sept. 2024.

AI or Not | AI Detector to Check for AI in Images & Audio. https://www.aiornot.com/. Accessed 27 Sept. 2024.

Dobrin, Nikki. "LeBron James Said, 'I Had a Weird Feeling Today Was the Day the Feds' Would Arrest Diddy?" Snopes, 19 Sept. 2024, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/lebron-james-talks-about-diddy-federal-arrest/.

---. "LeBron James Said, 'I Had a Weird Feeling Today Was the Day the Feds' Would Arrest Diddy?" Snopes, 19 Sept. 2024, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/lebron-james-talks-about-diddy-federal-arrest/.

Hive Moderation. https://hivemoderation.com/. Accessed 27 Sept. 2024.

"Home." Is It AI?, https://isitai.com/. Accessed 27 Sept. 2024.

Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/C7xQ18KyhQP/?hl=en&img_index=3. Accessed 27 Sept. 2024.

TrueMedia.Org. https://www.truemedia.org/. Accessed 27 Sept. 2024.