Highlights
- Mario Lopez deleted an AI video of niece Kalia Wong after major online backlash.
- Critics like Yashar Ali called the Grok-generated hot dog clip “creepy” and unsettling.
- The AI video clashed with Lopez’s decades-long family-man public image.
Mario Lopez‘s latest social media post was supposed to be a fun family moment. Instead, it turned into a full-blown internet controversy.
The Saved by the Bell alum, 52, attended Sunday’s Dodgers game against the Boston Red Sox with his niece, Kalia “YaYa” Wong. He first posted a normal clip from the stadium, cheering on the home team.
Then came the AI video, and things got weird fast.
The 15-second clip, generated using Grok’s AI tool, showed a digital version of Lopez and his niece at the ballpark, with the Access Hollywood host saying, “I can’t take her anywhere,” as Wong bit into two mustard-loaded hot dogs at once. “Oh my God, look at you!” the AI Lopez exclaims, before adding, “You’re a mess, the mustard!”
The internet did not find it charming.
Journalist Yashar Ali torched the clip on X, writing, “Uhhhh, what a creepy video for Mario Lopez to create using AI and then post… Especially since the subject is his niece!”
Barstool Sports’ Dan Katz piled on with blunt disbelief, and the replies only got harsher from there. One user didn’t hold back, writing, “Don’t ever post this weird [expletive] about your niece again.” Another told him bluntly there was still time to hit delete.
Critics argued the AI-generated clip clashed hard with the wholesome, family-man image Lopez has cultivated for decades. Some pointed to his past chumminess with Andrew Tate as further fuel for the pile-on, while others called the whole thing simply “disturbing.”
Not everyone piled on, though. Some defenders argued the joke was about Wong making a mess while eating, not anything more sinister, and noted Lopez had already posted real footage from the same outing.
The post racked up roughly three million views before Lopez quietly deleted it. Neither he nor Wong, the daughter of his sister Marissa and former NFL linebacker Kailee Wong, has addressed the backlash publicly.
Since then, he has posted what we assume is the original video.
Sunshine, baseball, family… doesn’t get much better than that. Let’s keep this postseason momentum rolling…#VivaLosDodgers #GoBlue #LAvsBoston #ITFDB pic.twitter.com/zrTtAwnAPE
— Mario Lopez (@mariolopezviva) August 2, 2026As of now, Lopez appears to be letting the internet’s fury speak for itself, and the internet has plenty to say.
