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Clay Matthews reacts to TMZ's AI-generated photo depicting him
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- Clay Matthews reacts to TMZ's AI-generated photo depicting him
Clay Matthews will be in real form in less than a week for everyone to see as the former Green Bay Packers linebacker makes his debut as an NFL analyst for Netflix .
And he'll likely have a joke or two about what was floating around the internet on Friday, Sept. 4.
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An AI-generated image posted by TMZ featured a hulking Matthews that enlarged so many features of his body that it shocked many on social media.
There's AI slop and then there's whatever the celebrity entertainment website decided to publish of Matthews.
Photos on TMZ's X and Instagram accounts show "Matthews" with the caption: "Clay Matthews was spotted out grabbing groceries looking VERY different after apparently getting some work done."
But anyone can clearly tell these photos are a bad AI job.
The face as a whole is not Matthews', especially the jaw line, the oversized chin and those weirdly botched cheeks. It looks like he's a Disney cartoon character with those features. And while Matthews is no small man, the arms and legs are all digitally enhanced.
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Oh, and then there's those horribly disfigured fingers that can be spotted as Matthews puts grocery bags into a vehicle. TMZ labeled the photo as an "ad" on X and a "paid partnership" on Instagram, though it didn't elaborate.
At times these days, AI images of people or everyday events are getting more difficult for people to determine what's real and what's not. But not with these photos. Folks on the internet quickly sounded off on the Matthews AI images, calling out TMZ.
Even Matthews hours later had to chime in with how TMZ portrayed him.
"Gigaclay," he wrote on X in response to Bussin' With the Boys' post of one of the photos as they joked in their caption: "You might not like it but this is what peak male performance looks like."
Matthews' performance on the field during his 11-year NFL career led to six Pro Bowl honors and a spot in the Packers ' Hall of Fame in 2024.
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Matthews, who spent 10 years in Green Bay, is the Packers' all-time sacks leader with 83.5 and during the team's Super Bowl season in 2010 he had a career-high 13.5.
He retired after the 2019 season.
Jan 25, 2015; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Team Irvin linebacker Clay Matthews of the Green Bay Packers (52) in the 2015 Pro Bowl at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Entering the 2026 season, Matthews, 40, has joined Netflix's NFL coverage as a studio analyst.
His first assignment will be the Los Angeles Rams-San Francisco 49ers game in Melbourne, Australia, on Thursday, Sept. 10.
Matthews is joining a new Netflix crew with host Elle Duncan, and fellow studio analysts of Hall of Famer Michael Irvin and Super Bowl-winning quarterback Nick Foles.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Clay Matthews reacts to TMZ's AI-generated photo depicting him
