Vicky Pattison opens up on huge backlash after deepfake sex tape & reveals why she stands by controversial decision

LAST Sunday night, Vicky Pattison sat alone and uploaded her own deepfake sex tape to Twitter.

It was an incredibly brave move to immerse herself entirely into the terrifying world of AI image abuse for a hard-hitting TV documentary.

But it sparked a backlash from ­victims who criticised the “PR stunt” as “deeply disrespectful”.

It’s left the I’m A Celeb winner in bits — because the horrifying rise in online attacks of women is something she cares about deeply.

Speaking for the first time about the project, Vicky, 37, told the Sun on Sunday: “The video itself has always been the part of the documentary I’ve wrestled with the most.

“So it isn’t a decision I made lightly, and it is one that I struggled with right until the end.

“Like, right until Sunday night I was asking — am I doing the right thing?

“I completely understand some ­people might be angry and upset about what we’ve done and I in no way want to diminish that.

“I’d never want to trivialise victims’ feelings.

Image abuse

“I had the privilege of speaking to brave survivors and a lot of them felt that creating the mock deepfake sex tape was a bold way to shine a much-needed spotlight on the issue.

“This form of abuse — it’s not slowing down.

“It’s just finding its feet.

“I’ve made my peace with the way we’ve chosen to tackle this problem.”

Vicky had been married to businessman Ercan Ramadan, 31, for just a month when she told him about the gritty documentary she was ­hoping to make with Channel 4.

Off the back of her campaigning for women’s rights, including tackling poverty and reproductive health, the reality star was asked if she was ­prepared to put her face to a sex tape to investigate explicit deepfake abuse.

It involved her directing actors to simulate a sex scene, then allowing AI to add her face to the footage.

The 45-second clip appeared to show Vicky engaged in a sex act — first wearing a bra then, later, topless.

When it went online on X/Twitter at 8pm last Sunday, Vicky couldn’t bring herself to ask Ercan to be with her.

She said: “I know the sex tape is getting a lot of the focus right now, because it’s very shocking.

“I understand that — this hasn’t been very nice for my family.

“I don’t think this is how we pictured the first six months of our marriage.

“Ercan was there for me a lot.

“He features in the documentary but he had his limits, so I was mindful of that.

“This was my decision alone.

I know the sex tape is getting a lot of the focus right now, because it’s very shocking. I understand that — this hasn’t been very nice for my family. I don’t think this is how we pictured the first six months of our marriage

Vicky Pattison

“I was aware there’s only so much I can ask the people who love me to do. So I sat there by myself.” ­

Normally bright and bubbly, it’s clear that the impact of making the documentary has hit Vicky hard, and her emotion is beyond that of just a celebrity caught on the hop.

She is at pains to explain her actions to deepfake victims, such as one who spoke to The Sun using the campaign name Jodie.

Jodie said she was “deeply offended, let down and disappointed” by Vicky’s move, which would fuel “harmful narratives” and was “disrespectful” to those who had endured the “torture” of sexual image abuse.

Vicky said: “I can’t compare my experience to what the victims of this go through, I really can’t.

“My heart goes out to them.

“I want to assure them that their feelings are valid and that I in no way want to diminish that.

“But I would like to say that, if it’s not too distressing, I hope they can watch the documentary and see that there is so much more to this than a deepfake sex tape that we’ve created.”

A big driver for Vicky in this project has been her desire to become a mum.

In 2023, she shared her journey to freeze her eggs after struggling with her reproductive health due to premenstrual dysphoric disorder — an extreme form of PMS.

Vicky said: “Ercan and I are planning on starting a family really soon and you are just terrified about the world you’re bringing kids up in.”

So how does she feel about the fact that one day any children she has could find Mum’s “sex tape”, I ask.

Vicky thinks for a minute.

The arrival of the internet means things do live forever. But a huge part of why those who create sexually explicit deepfakes get away with what they do is because of the feeling of shame the victims have

Vicky Pattison

She says: “The arrival of the internet means things do live forever.

“But a huge part of why those who create sexually explicit deepfakes get away with what they do is because of the feeling of shame the victims have.

“One of the big goals for us when we made this documentary was to help remove that feeling of shame, that stigma, and to help women stand with the brave women who are reclaiming their lives.

“So I won’t shy away from what I’ve done.

“Whether I have girls or boys, I will teach them about the ­pitfalls of AI.”

And, to ask bluntly, how does the future father of her kids really feel about her “appearing naked” online?

Vicky said: “Ercan has been really supportive.

“But if he’s said it once, he must have said it a million times — ‘It’s not you’. ‘It’s not you, though, is it?’

“But if we were going to give this the gravity it deserved, this is how it had to be done, I think.”

Sex tape journey

The fallout of Vicky’s tape going live will feature in the documentary and, as such, the project is still being filmed.

Viewers will watch her go through the near-impossible task of trying to erase the footage, and the many copies spawned, from the internet.

It is the final step in Vicky’s deepfake sex tape journey, which begins with her speaking to victims and campaigners.

She meets politician Cara Hunter and C4 News presenter Cathy Newman, both victims of deepfake abuse, who have campaigned for a change in ­legislation — and both backed Vicky’s sex tape “stunt”.

She also meets Baroness Charlotte Owen, who is leading the charge in England and begs Vicky to reconsider.

In addition, earlier this week campaigner Jodie told The Sun: “It could compromise her safety, increase traffic to the websites profiting from non-consensual abuse, and undermine the fight for survivor-centred legislation.”

But Vicky’s mind was made up after he spent time with another victim called Sophie.

The 31-year-old mum-of-two was the subject of extensive image abuse by her brother-in-law.

Vicky left the woman’s house in tears.

She said: “I met a lot of victims and survivors of this.

I met a lot of victims and survivors of this. And seeing how these incredibly strong women have dealt with it and put their lives back together was just heartbreaking

Vicky Pattison

“And seeing how these incredibly strong women have dealt with it and put their lives back together was just heartbreaking.

“We’ve had survivor-led testimony throughout this documentary from women who wanted their stories out there, wanted us to raise awareness, wanted us to advocate for change.

“A big concern for me throughout filming was that I wasn’t strong enough or wasn’t going to be able to stop crying.

“I did let myself down at moments, I think, and cry a bit much.

“But that is who I am and I do really care.

“I think I ended up a bit overwhelmed.

“I want this to go well.

“I want it to have the effect women ­desperately need.

“Fundamentally I was in control — and that is ­something they don’t have.”

The Government has announced plans to criminalise the creation of sexually explicit deepfakes but, as it stands, the law has not yet been passed.

A 2024 C4 News probe found that nearly 4,000 celebrities have been the ­victims of deepfake pornography.

Without people speaking up and using their voices to advocate for change, we are not going to get ironclad legislation. You haven’t seen the last of me. I intend to make myself a real nuisance until we get stuff done

Vicky Pattison

The biggest deepfake site, which this newspaper is choosing not to name, gets more than 13million hits a month.

It is this that Vicky is keen for her critics focus on.

She said: “Without people speaking up and using their voices to advocate for change, we are not going to get ironclad legislation.

“We’re not going to get better education for young boys.

“We’re not going to get better victim support.

“We’re not going to get the big tech companies to step up and make changes to shut down these sites.

“For me, this is not something I’m just going to make a one-off documentary about then walk away.

“For the victims, this has a long tail and for me, being involved will have a long tail too.”

This isn’t the first time Vicky has campaigned about womens’ issues, either.

Last year she spoke at the Houses of Parliament about female reproductive health and just last week she attended the Women’s March in London.

Vicky added: “I’m a tiny cog in a massive machine but I think you owe it to yourself if you have a platform or a voice to use it.

“Ultimately, I have faith in what we’ve done and I will continue to have confidence and pride in it.

“You haven’t seen the last of me.

“I intend to make myself a real nuisance until we get stuff done.”

•  Vicky Pattison: My Deepfake Sex Tape is on Channel 4 on Tuesday at 10pm.