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The Massachusetts case is the latest in a series of legal woes for the influencer whose real name is Braden Eric Peters
The online influencer known as Clavicular – who has helped to fuel the rise of the extreme male appearance-improvement trend of “looksmaxxing” – has been charged with rape and drug offenses in Massachusetts.
The 20-year-old, whose real name is Braden Eric Peters, has been scheduled for a 14 October arraignment on Cape Cod, according to legal documents seen by the Guardian.
He faces up to life in prison on felony counts of rape, drugging a person for sexual intercourse, and a misdemeanor charge of providing liquor to a minor.
The offenses are alleged to have taken place in Massachusetts in May 2025. It was not immediately clear if they related to a separate lawsuit filed in April by a teenager in Florida who said that Peters gave her alcohol during a 2025 party at his parents’ home on Cape Cod, then had sex with her while she was passed out. The girl was 16 at the time of that alleged incident.
Peters rose to prominence as a promoter of “looksmaxxing”, which analysts have described as a toxic pursuit by young men of altering or improving their facial looks and physiques, using extreme measures such as bone smashing to achieve more chiseled jawlines, oral and plastic surgeries, and lip enhancement.
The trend, which moved into the mainstream from its roots in the misogynistic “incel” (involuntary celibate) community, has an online following of millions. It has also been blamed by mental health experts for worsening issues of self-esteem, depression, and social anxiety in teenage boys for its messaging that romantic success is tied to physical perfection.
The charges against Peters in Massachusetts were filed in Orleans district court on 8 September, the records show, and a summons was issued the same day. A representative of Peters told multiple media outlets that Bulwark, the online news site that first reported the charges, was “exaggerating” the status of the case “to boost traffic” because, he said, the influencer had not been physically served.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/22/clavicular-charged-rape-drugging?utm_source=firefox-newtab-en-us
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‘Looksmaxxing’ influencer Clavicular charged with rape and drug offenses (she was 16)