Vicky Pattison's husband Ercan Ramadan has reacted to the deepfake sex tape she released ahead of her Channel 4 documentary Vicky Pattison: My Deepfake Sex Tape.
The documentary aired last night (28 January) and the former Geordie Shore star directed, produced, and distributed a sex tape online which featured her own likeness imposed onto one of the people in it via deepfake technology.
This has turned out to be a controversial move, as some have criticised Pattison as 'disrespectful' and Jodie, a campaigner for the survivors of deepfake abuse, told LADbible that she and other campaign groups had 'strongly advised against this approach'.
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Pattison had said she was 'increasingly disturbed by how prevalent the problem of deepfake porn is becoming' and making her own deepfake video was not a decision she took lightly.
During the Channel 4 documentary, there was a scene where she and her husband watched the deepfake sex tape she had made with her own image imposed on the footage.
While watching the deepfake, Ercan admitted that it 'does look real doesn't it', and he gave a verdict of 'not ideal' over the issue.
He said: "It's a very very good fake. As your husband, regardless of whether it's fake or not, you don't want a sex tape of your missus being sent around and talking about it, it's not ideal at all."
Later on, Ercan went upstairs and Vicky said he was hiding as he didn't want to watch any more.
There has been some backlash to Vicky Pattison: My Deepfake Sex Tape, including from a campaigner who was involved in the early stages of the documentary who said: "You wouldn’t go and do a documentary where you get into a physically violent and abusive relationship to experience how it feels."
Speaking to The Sun before the documentary released, Pattison said: "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.
“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.
“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.”
She also said that she 'can’t compare my experience to what the victims of this go through', adding that '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'.
Speaking on the documentary, a Channel 4 spokesperson said: "We understand that there have been varying views on this approach. In this documentary, Vicky aims to demonstrate how simple it is to create explicit deepfake content and raise awareness of how accessible this content is and how it can proliferate online.
"She also wanted to experience, as closely as possible, the feelings, vulnerabilities and concerns that arise when one becomes a victim of deepfake porn.
"The documentary recreates this, in a controlled environment, to exemplify the ease with which this kind of content can spread online and to raise awareness by demonstrating actions people can take should they find themselves a victim of this crime.
"The choice to make original footage ensures that everyone involved was able to fully consent from the outset.
"The documentary hears directly from victims of image-based abuse, to ensure that victim’s stories are at the forefront of the purpose of the programme. In doing so, audiences will see first-hand testimony from those who have lived through this issue, thus raising the profile of the problem and the ways in which we must support victims, through better processes enforced on tech companies, government legislation, better education and activism."
Topics: Celebrity, Channel 4, Documentaries, TV and Film
Joe Harker