Johnny Somali reportedly admits to distributing deepfakes of female streamers during his trial in South Korea

Controversial streamer Ramsey "Johnny Somali" recently appeared in a South Korean court on August 13, 2025, for a trial related to his alleged October 2024 acts of public disturbance, business obstruction, and deepfakes. Currently, the streamer is facing eight counts, two of which relate to the deepfakes of female content creators from South Korea.

Somali has reportedly pleaded guilty to the remaining six counts, which include four charges of "obstruction of business." Regarding the deepfakes, however, it would seem that the streamer's legal counsel intends to maintain their "not guilty" stance.

One support for this stance that was provided in court tried to represent Johnny Somali as a distributor of the deepfake videos rather than a producer. Andrew Esquire, of the YouTube channel Legal Mindset, spoke on this particular defense in his livestream covering the August 13 trial:

"Johnny's lawyer says, 'Ramsey cannot make the deepfakes because Ramsey does not know how to make deepfakes, so since he didn't make it...'"

[Timestamp - 54:45]

At this point, Esquire reports that Johnny's lawyer was cut off by the prosecutor, who interjected to say:

"So you deny making it, but you admit distributing the deepfakes?"

Somali's legal defense then reportedly admitted to the streamer's distribution of the fraudulent videos, citing that he had performed this act while under the influence of alcohol:

"While he was drunk, he admits distribution, denies production."

Legal Mindset has claimed that the statute being discussed does not necessarily require the accused to produce the deepfakes; rather, distributing is a sufficient indicator of the crime being committed as well.

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Who was targeted by the deepfakes tied to Johnny Somali?

[Timestamp - 9:11]

BongBong, or bongbong_IRL, a South Korean female Kick streamer, was the subject of the first deepfake incident. Johnny Somali shared an AI-generated video of the two kissing each other in an act of physical intimacy. Reports also indicate that he referred to BongBong as his "Korean girlfriend."

The second target was reported to involve another South Korean content creator with whom Somali had previously clashed online.

YouTuber Atozy, who visited the courtroom on August 13, 2025, shared his experience and summed up Johnny Somali's stance on the deepfake situation:

"And also, like that, the whole charge is for the distribution. So they're like, 'Oh, we didn't make it. I did distribute it, though, but I was drunk.' That's essentially what we're seeing unfold."

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In April 2025, Johnny Somali stated his intention to leave South Korea by traveling through international waters, despite currently facing criminal charges in the country.