Key Takeaways #
- Kenny Lattimore and Judge Faith Jenkins are aggressively suing anonymous YouTubers for defamation after at least 35 AI-generated videos falsely claimed infidelity, a secret divorce, and that Lattimore is gay, damaging their family and careers.
- Using a John Doe lawsuit and subpoenas to Google, they unmasked nine account holders, reached a $5,000 settlement with a Pakistan-based creator, and are still litigating against a Maryland YouTuber, while many overseas accounts remain hard to pursue.
- Calling AI-fueled misinformation a growing crisis, Jenkins and Lattimore—both long-established in law, TV, and R&B—are pushing YouTube to change its monetization and moderation policies, arguing individual lawsuits aren’t a sustainable fix as false videos and search results persist.
Kenny Lattimore and Judge Faith Jenkins aren't letting AI-generated gossip have the final word. After a wave of YouTube videos falsely claimed their marriage had imploded, the R&B singer and television judge launched an aggressive legal campaign to unmask the people behind the content, arguing the fabricated stories have harmed their family, reputations, and business.
According to The New York Times, the ordeal began shortly after the couple celebrated their fifth wedding anniversary, when relatives, friends, and fans started asking about rumors that Jenkins had cheated, Lattimore was secretly gay, and the pair were headed for divorce. None of it was true, they said.
Digging deeper, they uncovered at least 35 YouTube videos packed with AI-generated narration, fake quotes, manipulated images, and sensational headlines. The misinformation spread so widely that Google's AI-generated search summaries even began repeating false claims about their marriage.
Instead of waiting for the rumors to fade, the Lattimores fought back. Jenkins—an accomplished attorney before becoming a television personality—hired entertainment lawyer Felton T. Newell and filed a John Doe lawsuit to identify the anonymous creators.
Google was subpoenaed, ultimately revealing the identities of nine account holders. One Pakistan-based creator reached a $5,000 settlement after posting multiple videos about the couple, while a Maryland-based YouTuber remains locked in litigation after a judge denied his motion to dismiss.
Many of the remaining accounts, however, operate overseas, making further legal action far more difficult.
"It was nasty," Lattimore said of the online smear campaign. "At that point, I think I felt just completely out of control." Jenkins said the experience should be a warning about how quickly AI-fueled misinformation can spiral.
"Everybody needs to know that this is a warning — this is going to snowball if it remains unchecked," she said. While the couple has spent months in court, Jenkins acknowledged litigation isn't a long-term fix. "I can't advise people to go down the rabbit hole of litigation—it's just not a sustainable response to dealing with this online defamation. That's why YouTube has to do something—it's really their responsibility at this point."
The stakes extend well beyond celebrity gossip. Lattimore has spent nearly three decades building one of contemporary R&B's most respected catalogs, from his Gold-certified 1996 debut to enduring hits like "For You" and "Never Too Busy." The Grammy nominee, R&B Hall of Fame inductee, and founder of SincereSoul Records recently released Lullabies For You.
Jenkins, meanwhile, has built an equally accomplished career as a former Manhattan prosecutor, legal analyst, bestselling author, and television personality through Judge Faith, Divorce Court, Killer Relationship with Faith Jenkins, and most recently, Virtual Justice. The couple married in 2020 and are raising two young children together.
Although YouTube removed several channels tied to the campaign, not every video disappeared, and false claims continue surfacing in search results.
The experience has pushed the Lattimores beyond their own case. Alongside civil rights attorney Ben Crump, they've called for changes to YouTube's monetization policies and are advocating for broader reforms to address AI-generated defamation.