“In recent months and especially these days, false and defamatory headlines and information about me and my personal life that have nothing to do with reality or who I am have been circulating on social media.” This is how firmly the statement begins that Ester Expósito (Madrid, 26 years old) shared this Thursday, July 30, on her stories on Instagram — a social network followed by 24.6 million people. The actress from Élite and Venus directly attacks the false content that, according to her, has been circulating on the internet through social media and some media outlets in recent months, especially related to her relationship with footballer Kylian Mbappé (Bondy, 27 years old). “Absurd rumors created to tarnish a story between two people and hurt my dignity,” says the Madrid native.
Rumors of a possible romance between the actress and the French footballer began last March, when images of the couple enjoying a dinner full of laughter and caresses, a private jet trip, or an afternoon of bowling came to light. In the absence of an official confirmation — although the reference to “a story between two people” in her new statement is quite revealing — the couple is increasingly less discreet about their relationship and have been seen together on numerous occasions, whether at the World Cup, where Ester Expósito watched from the stands the match between the English and French teams, captained by Mbappé; or on a romantic getaway to Sardinia, as published this Wednesday by the magazine ¡Hola!. However, the actress criticizes that information or montages generated with artificial intelligence that have nothing to do with the reality of their relationship are also being spread, something that has become even more evident during and after the World Cup. “Not everything is acceptable, and this time I feel compelled to set the limit here and take legal action against those responsible,” she warns in her statement.
Expósito does not specify the exact content she refers to, but in recent days, for example, images of Mbappé in a loving attitude on a yacht with another woman have circulated on TikTok and X, suggesting possible infidelity by the Real Madrid footballer. However, media outlets like Maldita.es have confirmed that these types of images are generated with artificial intelligence. “One of the images contains the SynthID watermark, an icon imperceptible to the human eye that indicates it was generated with artificial intelligence (AI) tools. As for the other, it contains signs of having been generated with AI, such as the illegibility of the woman’s necklace,” noted the fact-checking project on July 20.
The most shared theories by users spoke of supposed arguments between the actress and the athlete, and some even linked her to the player’s subsequent sports performance. During the World Cup, Expósito was also the focus of countless memes and sexist comments encouraging her to “tire out” the forward before his match against the Spanish team in the semifinal — where Spain won 2-0.
Last June, the actress was also in the news for defending herself against the criticism generated by her visit to Bad Bunny’s Casita at his first concert in Madrid. “Of course you can be a feminist and enjoy reggaeton and dance until the floor if you want, absolutely,” the actress commented on the program Al cielo con ella, by Henar Álvarez. “There are many of us, in fact, but this is a very old debate that I thought we had already overcome,” she assured.
