Clay Matthews Goes Viral After TMZ Posted AI Photos Of An Impossibly Jacked Version Of Him
Clay Matthews woke up Friday to find himself the subject of one of the stranger celebrity news cycles of the year. TMZ posted photos on X and Instagram captioned "Clay Matthews was spotted out grabbing groceries looking VERY different after apparently getting some work done," showing an AI-generated version of the former Packers linebacker with cartoonishly enlarged muscles, an oversized jaw and, critically, horrifyingly botched disfigured fingers on his grocery-bag-holding hand.
The photos were labeled "#ad" and "paid partnership." X Community Notes immediately flagged them as AI-generated.
Most of the internet figured this out within minutes. Some portion of the internet did not, and the speculation about what plastic surgery procedure could simultaneously increase someone's body mass and mangle their fingers generated significant entertainment.
Matthews himself responded on X in one word: "Gigaclay."
The six-time Pro Bowler and Packers all-time sack leader is making his debut as a Netflix NFL studio analyst this coming Thursday, joining host Elle Duncan alongside Michael Irvin and Nick Foles for the 49ers-Rams season opener in Melbourne, Australia.
He will presumably be asked about Gigaclay at some point during that broadcast. He appears to have taken the whole thing in stride, which is the correct response to being depicted as an AI-generated version of yourself with impossible hands carrying groceries.
