Tap to enable a layout that focuses on the article.
Advertisement

Looksmaxxing influencer Clavicular pleads not guilty to charges that he raped a teenager in Massachusetts

Clavicular, wearing a suit and glasses, sitting on a bench in a courtroom
Braden Peters, also known as Clavicular, has pleaded not guilty to charges that he raped a teenager at his family home.
(Merrily Cassidy / Cape Cod Times via Associated Press)
0:00 0:00

This is read by an automated voice. Please report any issues or inconsistencies here.

See more from the L.A. Times in Google Search. Set us as preferred

  • Braden Peters, known online as looksmaxxing influencer Clavicular, has pleaded not guilty to charges that he raped a 17-year-old girl at his family home in Massachusetts.
  • He is facing felony charges for rape and drugging someone for sexual intercourse, and a misdemeanor charge related to providing alcohol to someone under 21.
  • Peters has denied the allegations and says the encounter was consensual.

Clavicular, the manosphere influencer known for his looksmaxxing content, pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges that he raped a teenager at his family home in Massachusetts.

The controversial internet personality, whose real name is Braden Peters, is accused of giving a 17-year-old girl alcohol until she was drunk, then sexually assaulting her, in May 2025. In September, he was charged with one felony count of rape and one felony count for drugging someone for sexual intercourse. He is also charged with a misdemeanor count of providing alcohol to someone younger than 21.

Peters has denied the allegations through his lawyers and says the sexual encounter was consensual, according to the Associated Press.

Advertisement

Clavicular, the social media influencer known for his looksmaxxing content, faces two felony charges for drugging and rape.

Peters allegedly invited the teen to a home owned by his family in Chatham, on Cape Cod, and served her alcohol while livestreaming and had sex with her “several times” after the webcast ended, according to the New York Times. Police later concluded that she lacked the capacity to consent, based on her likely level of intoxication, per the outlet.

The 20-year-old social media star reportedly arrived on Thursday at the courthouse in Orleans, Mass., walking a dog that barked at reporters. Peters ignored reporters’ questions and spoke only to the dog as he entered the building.

Judge John Julian, who presided over the hearing, set bail at $10,000, which Peters posted immediately after. Peters also surrendered his passport and, as part of his bail conditions, agreed to refrain from contacting or posting about his accuser.

Advertisement

The case marks the latest legal challenge for Peters, whose internet notoriety crossed into the mainstream after previous brushes with the law. In March, he was charged with misdemeanor battery after police alleged he instigated a fight between two women and posted a video of it online. That charge was later dropped. In May, he was charged with a misdemeanor for unlawfully discharging a firearm in public in relation to a viral video that showed an alligator being repeatedly shot. After pleading no contest, he was sentenced to probation.

YouTube has once again removed the channels of controversial manosphere personality Clavicular. He was first kicked off the platform in November.

The woman accusing Peters of rape in this latest case also filed a civil lawsuit against him in April in Florida.

Peters rose to internet prominence as a proponent of looksmaxxing, a trend related to extreme measures to improve one’s physical appearance. Peters has acknowledged using hard drugs and smashing the bones of his face with a hammer to maximize his looks.

The term and so-called self-improvement practice are generally associated with the incel community, though Peters has previously taken offense to that. “Incel” is a term that generally refers to extremely online men whose “involuntary celibacy” has shaped their attitudes toward women and other worldviews.

The biggest entertainment stories

Get our big stories about Hollywood, film, television, music, arts, culture and more right in your inbox as soon as they publish.

Advertisement
Advertisement