NEWSInside the ValenG and Jessica Arcila Video That Made Colombian Social Media Lose Its Mind
Dec. 26 2025, Published 12:29 p.m. ET
Jessica Arcila's phone wouldn't stop buzzing. Hundreds of DMs flooded in with the same question: "Were you the one with ValenG?" What started as a casual night at a Brazilian concert had somehow become one of Colombia's most dissected social media moments of 2025.
The internet thought it knew what happened. A backstage video showing Arcila and ValenG, a relationship influencer dating a Colombian singer, laughing with Brazilian artist Tuto had spawned accusations of infidelity, sexual misconduct and betrayal. Fans of ValenG's boyfriend mobilized and the comment sections turned feral.
Want OK! each day? Sign up here!
But here's what actually went down in that dressing room: absolutely nothing scandalous. "There was never anything sexual," Arcila says. "It was simply the haters of my colleague and the fans of her boyfriend in my country who invented stories about infidelity. But ultimately we were just with a famous singer sharing, having fun and taking advantage of the moment for our social networks.”
The controversy reached peak absurdity when Chanty, a prominent Colombian streamer with over a million followers between Instagram and Twitch, called Arcila live on-air during his broadcast. "Baby, are you with ValenG, and what are you doing, are you with men?" he pressed, interrogating and fishing for a confession that didn't exist.
Most influencers would have issued tearful apologies or gone dark, but Arcila did the opposite. She and ValenG let the controversy burn, understanding something their critics didn't: outrage is rocket fuel. The haters delivered an audience, and the audience stayed for the content.
By the time the smoke cleared, both creators had converted scandal-curious followers into genuine fans. The people who arrived for drama discovered creators they actually liked as the infidelity narrative dissolved. What remained was proof of a counterintuitive truth in the attention economy: sometimes the best response to a false controversy isn't correction, but conversion.
