'Looksmaxxing' Influencer Clavicular Pleads Not Guilty to Rape Charge
Braden Peters, the 20-year-old "looksmaxxing" influencer known online as Clavicular, pleaded not guilty Thursday to raping a 17-year-old girl at his family's home on Cape Cod in 2025.
Peters arrived at Orleans District Court in Orleans, Massachusetts, wearing an all-black suit and walking a dog, according to social media video cited by The Boston Globe. It is not clear why he brought the dog.
The Charges
Massachusetts prosecutors charged Peters last month following an investigation by the Chatham Police Department. He faces three charges: rape, drugging a person for sexual intercourse and furnishing alcohol to someone under 21. During the brief arraignment, he waived the reading of the charges, and a not guilty plea was entered on his behalf.
He posted $10,000 bail as part of an agreement with prosecutors, 7News Boston reported. As conditions of his release, he must surrender his passport, have no contact with the alleged victim and not post about her on social media. Prosecutors did not object to his release, noting that he had flown in from California for the hearing.
Judge John Julian warned Peters that if he is charged with a new crime while out on bail, "I could hold you without bail for up to 90 days."
"Yes, your honor," Peters replied. He did not comment to reporters outside court.
What the Police Report Says
According to a police report, the alleged assault happened on May 23, 2025, at the Chatham home of Peters' parents.
The young woman told police she had been paid to appear in his livestreamed videos. She said Peters gave her several shots of vodka while he was streaming from his bedroom and told her to say she was 18 and that the vodka was water so his accounts would not be banned, according to the report.
She told police she fell asleep in his bed and woke up to find him having sex with her, and that she "did not consent," the report states.
Peters Denies the Allegations
Through his lawyers, Peters denies the allegations and says the encounter was consensual, NBC Washington reported.
The same woman has also filed a civil lawsuit against Peters in Florida, which includes separate allegations tied to a later livestream. His attorneys have called that lawsuit a "publicity grab." A spokesperson for Peters, Mitchell Jackson, said the woman did not include sexual assault claims when she first filed the suit and added them later. Peters has filed a motion to dismiss the civil case.
Ahead of Thursday's hearing, his defense team also asked the court to make sure certain evidence is preserved, including police body camera footage of a June 2026 meeting between officers and the woman.
Who Is Clavicular?
Peters has about one million Instagram followers and has become one of the most recognizable faces of looksmaxxing, an online trend in which young men go to extreme lengths to improve their appearance. That can include steroids, surgery and other procedures. The Associated Press described him as known for promoting "extreme devotion to male beauty."
The trend has drawn growing concern from parents and experts as it gains mainstream attention. In July, fellow looksmaxxing influencer Connor Murphy died at 32 after drowning in Thailand.
This is not Peters' first brush with the law. Earlier this year, he was charged in Florida with misdemeanor battery after police said he provoked a fight between two women and posted it online. That charge was later dropped. In a separate Florida case, he pleaded no contest to firing a gun in public and was sentenced to probation.
Peters is due back in court on Nov. 24 for a probable cause hearing.
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