'Deepfake': Stars who fell victim to edited nude photos, videos

January 28, 2021 - 5:28pm

K-pop star Nancy (left) and Filipino star Liza Soberano.

Screengrab from Nancy McDonie, Liza Soberano via Instagram

MANILA, Philippines — Apart from malicious intrigues and social media bullying, celebrities are also prone to a more damaging incident — the release of alleged sex or nude images or videos.

Manipulation of photos have been around since the time that film had been produced, but with the advancement in technology especially in the 21st century, the thin line between real and fake is hardly distinguishable.

It is most difficult when a photo or video is a deepfake, which has been the favorite tool for those who make celebrity pornographic materials, revenge porn, hoaxes, conspiracy theories and financial schemes.

The recent news of Korean star Nancy McDonie's and actresses Sue Ramirez and Maris Racal's manipulated sexy photos bring to mind these concerns.

Sue and Maris have called out those who put their good reputation on the line. Their mother network, ABS-CBN, also released a statement condemning the act.

There's a popular saying that "sex sells," and this has been abused so many times in the past.

Liza Soberano's 'bikini' photo

The Filipina-American is a wholesome actress whose ethereal beauty is much coveted, obssessed over and envied.

There are those who exploit her name for virality. It happened a few years ago when a photo of a woman wearing a sexy bikini was mistaken to be hers.

It turns out the woman is host and commercial model Kriz Nuqui. There's nothing wrong with wearing a bikini. It is the people who put malice on it by their comments laced with innuendos.

To this day, there are still videos that mistake Liza for Kriz with malicious titles on websites.

Paulo Avelino's 'genital' photos

As often as female celebs are victimized, male personalities are also mercilessly and unabashedly subjected to such abuse. The most recent that comes to mind is the prosthetic genital prop of Paulo Avelino in the hit 2021 MMFF entry "Fangirl."

Although it was just a part of the movie's many scenes, many people continued to talk about it and even making screenshots of it. It made the rounds in social media as fodder.

Paulo has since appealed to the public to stop spreading the screenshots and called on focusing on the film's narrative. Thankfully, Antoinette Jadaone's film is written and directed better that the scene was merely a distraction from the merits of the film.

There are more male stars who are subjected to even more malicious intrigues that allegedly involve photos of their private parts. Many of them denied or remained tight-lipped until the issue died down.

Ivana Alawi's alleged nude video

Although she has a sexy image, YouTuber and actress Ivana Alawi said she will never ever be in any scandal.

"You know, alam kong mukha akong wild, 'yung walang pakialam, liberated. Proud ako dito — you will never, ever see any scandal of mine on the Internet," Alawi said on her May 14, 2020 vlog.

She addressed the then circulating video of hers allegedly in the nude.

"Unang-una, wala akong makukuha doon, pag nag-video ako o nag-video ako nang nakahubad. Bakit? Never ko siya naisip na gawin, ever in my life. Tapos isi-send mo sa mga lalaki? 'Pag ginagawa mo 'yun, I have nothing against you, pero I'm just saying that for myself," she stressed.

Maine Mendoza denies 'deepfake'

Just like Liza, Maine Mendoza is also a showbiz sweetheart with a family-friendly image.

Perverts love abusing females who are considered wholesome and the "Eat Bulaga" host fell victim to them.

Last December, Maine vehemently denied the "deepfake" video scandal.

"Wtf???? Sobrang kamukha ko kinilabutan ako pero hindi ako to!” she wrote on her Twitter last December 22.

Her agency, All Access Artists, denied the videos and said it will pursue legal actions. Maine's mother filed a complaint last December 28 at the Cybercrime Division of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).

Catriona Gray fights back

Miss Universe 2018 was subjected to malice when alleged nude photos were falsely attributed to her in July 2020.

The Filipina-Australian beauty queen, together with her legal counsel Joji Alonso, filed the complaint against the unnamed perpetrator at the NBI.