This ridiculous AI video has managed to convince some people that Jennifer Coolidge is trans
The bizarre AI video is a masterclass in misinformation (X.com)
An AI video doing the rounds on X/Twitter has managed to convince people that White Lotus and American Pie star Jennifer Coolidge is, in fact, a trans woman.
The video was shared by an account called @Johnny119934 on 16 April, captioned “7 Trans Celebrities Who Embraced Their Authentic Selves”, and shows various well-known people both before, and after, they transitioned. However, it’s a baffling mess of both accurate, and completely fake, information.
The video starts with Cher’s son, Chaz Bono, who is transgender and recently got married. However, the video then changes to show a before photo of “Jennifer Coolidge” as a man; that then morphs into a picture of Transparent star Trace Lysette, who bears absolutely no resemblance to Coolidge whatsoever.
The video then goes on to accurately portray Caitlyn Jenner and Elliot Page’s transition journeys, before randomly using an image of Eddie Redmayne as Euphoria star Hunter Schafer’s “before” photo.
Despite the fact that it is, and we’re being charitable here, absolute b*******, the video has been viewed over one million times, and led to a spike in Google searches for “Jennifer Coolidge trans” and “Jennifer Coolidge young.”
It goes without saying that Jennifer Coolidge is not transgender. She’s a cis woman who got her big break playing “Stifler’s mom” in the hit 1999 comedy movie American Pie.
In October 2020, she was cast as Tanya McQuoid, a wealthy woman on vacation, in Mike White’s comedy-drama series The White Lotus, a character who became an instant hit with the LGBTQ+ community, largely thanks to her much-memed line: “These gays are trying to murder me.”
Comments under the viral video are mixed. Some transphobes have clearly taken it at face value, with one writing: “Such a damn shame. These people didn’t need sexual transitions, they needed love and therapy.”
Another added: “These poor people are mentally ill and they’ve been brainwashed.”
However, others spotted the mistakes and pointed them out. One wrote: “Second one is Trace Lysette not Jennifer Coolidge. If you’re gonna ai slop something, at least get the facts right.”
Someone else said: “The “before” for Hunter Schafer is frying me” accompanied by three laughing emojis.
The fact so many people were quick to believe that Jennifer Coolidge is trans is probably due to the fact that trans conspiracy theories involving female celebrities have become increasingly common in recent years.
Transvestigating – a mash-up of trans and investigating – refers to conspiracy theories that falsely claim individuals, typically women, are transgender and are hiding their “true” gender identity.
The trend has led to many people speculating that celebrities, including Taylor Swift, Serena Williams and Michelle Obama, are trans, despite a complete lack of evidence to support their claims.
Female athletes are also often regularly “accused” of being trans after winning competitions.
Unlike Jennifer Coolidge, Hunter Schafer is transgender, but she definitely didn’t used to be Eddie Redmayne.
