Viral influencer Clavicular, whose real name is Braden Peters, has rejected associations between his "looksmaxxing" movement and "incel culture," stating that the former is intended as an alternative to the latter. In a July 21 episode of Fox News' "Hang Out with Sean Hannity," the 20-year-old internet personality explained that looksmaxxing is about self-improvement and aims to transcend the issues associated with involuntary celibacy.
"People will often try to associate looksmaxxing with incel culture and being super resentful of women, when it's actually the antithesis of that, right?" Clavicular said. "Looksmaxxing is trying to escape inceldom, if anything, so for that link to try to be made makes no sense to me whatsoever."
Looksmaxxing, as described by Clavicular, involves a rigorous regimen to perfect one's appearance, sometimes including practices like taking stimulants or striking facial bones with a hammer to stimulate bone growth.
When discussing the current dating landscape, Clavicular suggested that challenges in relationships are not solely attributable to one gender. "Every time I talk about hypergamy and why the dating market is hard, I'll talk about how maybe women on dating apps will go for the top profiles and this and that," he explained. "But then I'll also say right after, you know, can you really blame them with the generation of men that's out there for them? So I think it's a problem on both sides. It's not just women, it's not just men — it is holistic."
Clavicular previously faced pointed questions about his alleged ties to the incel community during an interview with "60 Minutes Australia." He denied any connection to the group, asserting that looksmaxxing's goal is to move away from such associations.
In March, Clavicular was arrested on a battery charge. Police alleged that he instigated a fight between two women and posted a video of the incident on social media, drawing further scrutiny to his conduct, particularly on livestreams.
Sean Hannity concluded his conversation with Clavicular by offering him well wishes and advice to be "careful."