Matt Barnes is setting the record straight.
The former NBA player, 45, took to Instagram on Monday, Dec. 8, to deny a bizarre rumor claiming he was scammed out of $61,000 by an AI model on a dating app. Barnes opened the video by reflecting on a tumultuous year, saying 2025 had brought “a lot of negatives, [and] a lot of positives,” but paying a non-existent woman was not among his low points.
“I’ve seen rumors from me being gay to coming back from Dubai and supposedly suing an AI model,” Barnes said. “And all these bottom-of-the-barrel blogs pick it up. Some of you don’t even check, you just run the same garbage.”
Barnes specifically called out fellow ex-NBA player Gilbert Arenas, who mentioned the AI rumor on his podcast. The two share a long history, having played together for the Golden State Warriors and the Memphis Grizzlies, and their families are connected—Barnes’ ex-wife Gloria Govan is the sister of Arenas’ former partner, Laura Govan.
“I told him, ‘Bro, after all we’ve been through, tap in with me and see if it’s real,’” Barnes said. “He apologized; he didn’t know it was that deep. But once someone close addresses the lie, it just spreads.”
Barnes urged fans not to take everything they hear at face value. “I’ve been dealing with real stuff while y’all been lying. When the hate doesn’t work, they start lying. But you don’t have to believe them,” he said.
He concluded the video with an optimistic note for the new year: “Stay blessed 2026, we coming.”
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