Matt Barnes is setting the record straight after wild rumors spread claiming he was scammed out of $61,000 by an AI-generated Instagram model — and had launched a lawsuit to get the money back. According to the former NBA star, the entire story is 100% false.
Barnes took to Instagram to shut down the misinformation, visibly frustrated after seeing his name trending over something he says never happened.
“I’ve sat back and watched the internet lie about me the whole year,” he began. “Lies from me being gay, to me talking abortion, to me telling some girl not to do a reality show.”
Then he addressed the rumor directly.
“I get back from Dubai … I see all of a sudden I’m suing an A.I. model, or I got played by an A.I. model,” he said. “You guys believe I got played by an A.I. model — and I’m suing ’em?! Where the f*** did you guys get this from?!”
Barnes went on to call out the bloggers and social media accounts behind the viral story, calling them “bottom of the barrel ass motherf***ers” for pushing false narratives simply for clicks.
Barnes Says He’s Focused on His Family
The former NBA champion also emphasized that the public drama has been especially frustrating because he’s currently working on healing his family.
Earlier this year, his ex-fiancée Anansa Sims called off their engagement after accusing him of cheating. Barnes publicly admitted he was in the wrong during an appearance on All the Smoke, saying he wasn’t emotionally present in the relationship.
Sims quickly clapped back, accusing him of sharing “half-truths” to gain sympathy.
“If you’re going to talk publicly about our personal business, tell the whole story,” she fired back. “You’ve made no effort to emotionally support all of our children through this traumatic transition you caused.”
With all that personal tension already in the public eye, the AI scam rumor was the last thing Barnes wanted added to the pile.
For now, he’s made it clear:
No AI model scammed him. No lawsuit exists. And he’s tired of the internet inventing drama.
