Meet the Men Creating AI Gay Thirst Traps
▼ Summary
– Jae Young Joon is an AI-generated male influencer with over 320,000 Instagram followers, created by Luc Thierry.
– Thierry discloses Jae is AI in his bio, but most followers ignore this and treat the account as a fantasy or role-play.
– Thierry is part of a creator group making AI content for a gay male audience, though Jae’s followers are mostly female.
– AI models “Santos Walker” and “Caleb Ellis” went viral for a fake red carpet appearance for *The Devil Wears Prada 2*, which was not sponsored by the studio.
– The incident sparked backlash and online debate about AI influencers deceiving audiences and promoting unrealistic body standards.
With his deep brown eyes, broad smile, and an almost cartoonishly sculpted physique, Jae Young Joon looks like the ultimate male influencer. On Instagram, where he commands over 320,000 followers, he shares content ranging from testing sheet masks at home to enjoying soju and karaoke with friends, or striking a pose in front of the Ferris wheel at Coachella. He occasionally plugs his music, including his latest album Pressure Release, which features a BDSM-inspired cover showing his back muscles rippling beneath a harness and chains.
It’s a polished online persona, and his fans eat it up. The comments section is flooded with fire and heart-eye emojis, along with praise for his music. But scroll back to his bio, which reads “Human mind. AI generated,” and the illusion shatters. Jae isn’t real. His friends aren’t real. Neither is his music career, nor his trip to Coachella.
Jae is the creation of Luc Thierry, a soft-spoken Canadian in his early thirties who has spent the past few months growing the account. Although Thierry clearly labels Jae as AI-generated in his profile, most followers either ignore the disclosure or choose to play along.
“When I see people responding as if it’s real, I hope they understand it’s not and that they’re choosing to role-play or accept it as a fantasy,” Thierry explains. “It’s similar to forming a parasocial relationship with a character from a video game or TV show. I know it’s not exactly the same, but I see my role as indulging that fantasy and letting them feel part of it.”
Thierry belongs to a group of creators producing content primarily for a gay male audience, though he notes with surprise that most of Jae’s followers are actually female. These creators operate a group chat where they regularly like and comment on each other’s posts, often collaborating to boost their audiences.
Earlier this week, two of these AI characters, “Santos Walker” and “Caleb Ellis,” went viral after “appearing” on the red carpet for the premiere of The Devil Wears Prada 2. Writer and editor Mikelle Street reacted on social media: “I’m gagging. Scrolling through Instagram and I came across a whole group of AI models/accounts.”
The red carpet stunt sparked backlash. Some assumed the post was sponsored content for 20th Century Studios, the film’s distributor. But WIRED confirmed that the creator of the “Santos” account made the image without any studio involvement, intending it as the online equivalent of crashing the red carpet. The creator even built an elaborate backstory, imagining a wealthy movie producer had flown Santos and Caleb to Hollywood on a private jet. (20th Century Studios did not respond to a request for comment.)
Though the post wasn’t paid promotion, it ignited debate about whether AI-generated influencers like Santos are deceiving audiences or setting a dangerous precedent for branded content.
“We currently have human influencers,” one user wrote on X. “So the next step is CREATING fake, 100% controllable influencers FROM SCRATCH for the sole purpose of marketing films, shows, products, etc.?” Others mocked Santos and Caleb’s followers for ogling their exaggeratedly muscular frames, sparking conversations about how AI models perpetuate unrealistic body standards within the gay community.
(Source: Wired)