The online influencer known as Clavicular – who helped 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 plied her with 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.
Peters, who has an online following of more than a million, did not respond to the charges directly. But he posted a cryptic message on X on Monday night accusing the teenager who filed the Florida lawsuit of “trying to get my attention in anyway possible, a lawsuit?” and calling her “petty”. It was accompanied by a photograph of a letter allegedly written by the teen – who has publicly identified herself – pledging “you have my loyalty 100%”.
The lawsuit makes allegations against Peters of battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, fraud, and unauthorized publication of her name and likeness, according to NBC6 South Florida that reported the developments in April. It stops short of accusing Peters of rape despite the allegations in the lawsuit.
According to the lawsuit, Peters initially paid her $1,000 and told her he wanted to make her “the female face of looksmaxxing” – but their relationship soured and went through several highs and lows.
When the teen was in Massachusetts in 2025, it said, Peters paid for an Uber to take her to the party at his parents’ home. The age of consent in Massachusetts is 16 – but she alleges that Peters served her vodka despite being under the legal drinking age and “to the point where she was unable to give consent”, then had sex with her anyway.
After ignoring her for six months afterwards, the lawsuit said, they rekindled their relationship to a point where Peters was paying her $15,000 a month as a social media promoter. But they fell out again and Peters began an online campaign to discredit her.
The teen said Peters also injected her twice against her will with methamphetamine-laced Aqualyx, a substance not approved by the US Food and Drug administration (FDA), to melt fat around her cheeks and jawline.
Steven Kramer, Peters’ attorney in that case, said in a statement at the time that his client “denies the claims and disputes the characterization of events”. He said Peters would “vigorously defend himself” through the appropriate legal channels and would not be making any further comment.
The Massachusetts rape case is the latest in a series of recent legal woes for Peters, who in February was reported by the New York Times to be earning in excess of $100,000 monthly for his livestreams.
In March, he was charged in Florida with firearms offenses for allegedly shooting an already-dead alligator during a livestream. He pleaded no contest in exchange for six months’ probation and 20 hours of unpaid community service.
The same month, he and a girlfriend – Violet Marie Lentz, 24 – were arrested and charged with battery stemming from an alleged assault on a 19-year-old woman at a rented house in Kissimmee, Florida.
