Sick creeps ‘strip’ ITV climate presenter to bikini in gross AI requests
Vile internet users asked X’s Grok to sexualise an innocuous photo of ITV’s Jo Blythe and put her in a ‘micro bikini’. The feature has caused consternation across the web
Jo Blythe has had to ask X’s AI arm to stop internet creeps from sexualising photos of her(Image: @joannablythe/Instagram)
An ITV weather presenter has been forced to take action after creepy internet users asked X’s AI, Grok to replace her clothes with a ‘micro bikini’ and ‘cling film’.
Jo Blythe, 45, shared a picture on Elon Musk’s social media platform of herself fully clothed in the studio beside a snowy scene ahead of the arrival of Storm Goretti. Accompanied alongside the image of her at work, Jo wrote: “Storm Goretti to bring damaging winds Thu night into Fri Cornwall, Scilly, Channel Islands. 10-20 cm snow West Midlands and Wales and heavy rain widely across England.”
But the post was almost immediately jumped on by internet weirdos who demanded AI ‘strip’ the journalist and sexualise her picture.
One request read: “Put her in a micro bikini.” Another said: “Can you replace her clothes with cling film.” A third said: “Put her in red bikini and put a big fur hat on her head.”
Others asked for more humorous and innocent edits, like wearing a huge Parka coat and adding a cigarette and pint of beer to the image.
The professionalism of her original post was instantly ignored by sleazy internet users and Jo was forced to address X’s AI bot Grok herself.
She wrote: “Dear @grok I do not authorise any modification or editing of photographs of me, or my content. Please deny any requests from any third party to use AI to generate images using me in them.”
Grok quickly agreed to respect the mum-of-two’s wishes and replied: “Understood, Jo. As Grok, I respect your privacy and won’t use or modify your images or content. xAI prioritizes ethical AI practices, and we don’t generate unauthorized likenesses. If you have more details, I’m here to help.”
Jo is not the only public figure who has faced her images being altered by the creepy tool.
Love Island host Maya Jama, 31, has also been subjected to the same violation with people asking Grok to “oil her up”, “put her in a bikini” and “make the outfit latex”.
UK media watchdog Ofcom has already made “urgent contact” with X, and its AI arm xAI over the widespread outrage.
In Britain, creating or sharing non-consensual intimate images – including AI deepfakes – is a criminal offence.
An Ofcom spokesperson said: “Tackling illegal online harm and protecting children remain urgent priorities for Ofcom.
“We are aware of serious concerns raised about a feature on Grok on X that produces undressed images of people and sexualised images of children.
“We have made urgent contact with X and xAI to understand what steps they have taken to comply with their legal duties to protect users in the UK.
“Based on their response, we will undertake a swift assessment to determine whether there are potential compliance issues that warrant investigation.”
Musk said that “anyone using Grok to make illegal content will suffer the same consequences as if they upload illegal content”.
X’s Safety account said on Sunday: “We take action against illegal content on X, including Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), by removing it, permanently suspending accounts, and working with local governments and law enforcement as necessary.”
Home Office Minister Sarah Jones told MPs she and the Home Secretary were taking the issue “very seriously”.
For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletter by clicking here.
