Mario Lopez is facing backlash after sharing an AI-generated video of his niece that many online found deeply unsettling. As detailed by BroBible, the television host posted the fifteen-second clip on August 3, 2026, following a trip to a Los Angeles Dodgers game with his niece, nineteen-year-old Kalia Wong.
The AI-generated video depicted a digital version of Lopez and Wong at the stadium, showing her messily eating two loaded hot dogs while mustard and relish spilled across her face and jersey. The digital version of Lopez reacted with exaggerated expressions in the clip, which was captioned “I can’t take my niece anywhere!”
The reaction online was swift and largely negative, with many users expressing confusion over the decision to create and share the footage. Journalist Yashar Ali wrote that it was “a creepy video for Mario Lopez to create using AI and then post,” a sentiment echoed across the replies as the post gained traction.
The criticism only grew louder as more people weighed in
Several commenters said the clip felt inappropriate given that the subject was a family member, and some argued it clashed with the wholesome, family-man image Lopez has built over his decades in entertainment. Barstool Sports personality Dan Katz also criticized the clip publicly, reacting with blunt disbelief at the choice to post it. Some of the backlash unfolded during a busy stretch of unrelated online chatter; a separate incident on an airplane involving two passengers was drawing its own wave of attention around the same time for entirely different reasons.
The timing of the post coincided with a rough night for the Dodgers, who lost 8-4 to the Boston Red Sox on Sunday, according to ESPN, completing a three-game sweep for Boston. Despite the notable result on the field, the online conversation remained centered almost entirely on the controversy surrounding Lopez’s post rather than the game itself. Elsewhere in the same news cycle, a separate story about a medical scare had nothing to do with the AI video controversy but was making its own rounds online.
Lopez is widely known for his role as A.C. Slater on Saved by the Bell and has held hosting positions on Extra and Access Hollywood, along with stints on MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew and The X Factor. He has also appeared as himself in projects ranging from Sesame Street to Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping.
Lopez deleted the AI-generated clip Monday without publicly addressing the criticism, though he left a separate, non-AI video from the same outing on his page.
Published: Aug 4, 2026 10:00 pm