Comedic content creator Chris Olsen said he was the victim of intimate image abuse, also known as “revenge porn,” sharing in an emotional video posted Tuesday that sexually explicit images of him were being circulated on social media without his consent.
In the video posted to his TikTok page, the influencer said he first became aware of the images circulating publicly four years ago. The social media star, who has more than 13 million followers on TikTok, where he frequently collaborates with celebrities like Meghan Trainor, said he initially didn’t want to publicly address the matter. But he made the video after receiving multiple messages and comments about the situation.
The private pictures were first shared to X (formerly known as Twitter), according to Olsen, where he said he didn’t have an account at the time. Sharing nonconsensual sexually explicit content is prohibited by X’s terms of service. A spokesperson for X did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Olsen said in the video that he made an account on X for the sole purpose of asking the user to take down his photos. When he asked the X user to take down the images, Olsen said the user blocked him and told their followers to save the image before it was removed.
“I knew after that I was, like, basically done for,” Olsen said in the tearful video, which has been viewed nearly 4 million times as of Thursday. “And I said that was four years ago, and I’m still dealing with this today. It never stopped. It’s nonconsensual. It’s violating. It’s fully abuse and illegal.”
Olsen did not specify whether the images remained on X or any other social media platform.
He was not available to comment before publication.
The creator joins a growing list of victims of nonconsensual pornography and image-based sexual abuse. Both public and private citizens have been victims of image-based sexual abuse on social media, with some images generated fully by artificial intelligence. The issue, which includes deepfakes — which are fake but realistic digital media, including videos, audio and images that are sometimes created with AI tools — has become more pervasive with the rise of easy access to AI technology. However, real images are also frequently circulated.
Earlier this month, Twitch streamer Sketch, whose real name is Kylie Cox, said explicit content from his OnlyFans account was leaked online. Videos of Cox addressing the leak were viewed millions of times across social media platforms, and Cox was largely met with support from his base of mainly young, male sports fans.
As of October 2023, every state except Massachusetts and South Carolina had some kind of law prohibiting nonconsensual pornography, commonly referred to in statutes as “revenge porn,” according to Ballotpedia.
The response to Olsen’s video appeared to be largely positive, with many offering their support. Content creator and singer Jax was among those who offered their support in the comments, writing, “CHRIS. I am speechless. This is so violating and cruel.”
One in 8 Americans who use social media have been targeted by nonconsensual pornography, and women were about 1.7 times as likely to be the targets as men, according to research conducted by the advocacy organization Cyber Civil Rights Initiative.
Olsen said in his video that he hears stories about other victims almost daily, and he urged his followers to avoid circulating sexually explicit images without consent.
“If you’re contributing to this, you’re contributing to a culture of abuse,” Olsen said. “I know people don’t like me. I know that. But can you please find a more creative way to hate on me than committing a crime? This sucks.”
