Carín León Roasts Gay Rumors in Wake of AI-Generated Deepfake

Mexican recording artist Carín León responded to speculation triggered by a deepfake video that seemed to show him and another man, artist Espinoza Paz, kissing. León had some fun with the rumors.

"In a five-part video posted on his Instagram stories on Monday (Jan. 27), the Hermosillo-born singer-songwriter expressed that it was time to give an explanation to fans," Billboard reported.

Tackling chatter head-on, León posted: "Since people have the power to cancel, to say what each person is, if I am this, if I am that, since you decide everything that happens in my life, I woke up being gay three days ago, because people wanted it that way."

The "Que Vuelvas" singer seemed to liken being queer with catching a cold, going on to add: "I haven't developed any symptoms, I don't think, I haven't developed any kind of attraction to people of my own sex yet, so I still have heterosexual behaviors."

"I want people who suffer from homosexuality to tell me when the first symptoms appear, so that they don't catch me off guard and catch me out of the blue with makeup, do you understand?"

"León and Paz first collaborated four years ago on 'Como Duele Equivocarse,'" Billboard noted of the singer and the artist.

Social media users are having fun, too. "As a result of the fake clip, his song 'De Compas,' part of his 2024 album 'Palabra de To's,' began making the rounds, showing people of the same sex enjoying each other's company," Billboard detailed.

"The popular sound on TikTok has generated more than 40K video creations on the app."

In a more serious vein, León followed up with a supportive message: "Long live the community. You know that I love you very much," Billboard quoted him posting.

"I think that the sexual orientation of any person is now secondary," León added. "We see so many people with very varied and very different sexual preferences who are super-mega-hyper-successful."

"León is a first-time nominee at the 2025 Grammys taking place Sunday (Feb. 2) in the best música Mexicana album category for Boca Chueca, Vol. 1," Billboard noted. "He also leads the 2025 Premio Lo Nuestro nominations, alongside Becky G, with 10 nods each."

The portents are favorable: León was victorious last fall at the Latin Grammys, with "Boca Chueca, Vol. 1" taking the prize for Best Contemporary Mexican Music Album.