Amidst the sudden downfall of “Glambot guy” Cole Walliser, its original director, Joseph Kahn, has addressed the idea that his concept was savagely stolen.
2026 is already gearing up to be a chaotic mess because never could any of us have guessed that the Glambot guy would be cancelled. It all started with Jennifer Lopez, as all good viral sagas do, but it’s quickly become about so much more.
Amidst the allegations, which also include some rather pointed leaked messages, people have accused Cole Walliser of “stealing” Glambot from its original director, Joseph.
@colewalliser Here’s a clean grammar and spell check, keeping the tone and energy the same: **The key to success in Hollywood is staying true to yourself, and I think Hudson embodies that completely
** I wasn’t going to tell my fellow B.C. boy he can’t do what’s in his heart to do!! I’m here to help people shine, not dim anybody’s light. So here is Hudson Williams being true to himself on the GlamBOT
#hudsonwilliams #colewalliser #glambotbts #LiveFromE #goldenglobes @E! News @E! Entertainment
Back in 2016, after the technology was invented by Gary Snegaroff, Joseph helmed the original iteration of Glambot. He used his years of experience making music videos to steer the creative direction, but stepped back a year later.
Cole has been the director for a few years now, which is why most people assumed it was his piece of kit. That couldn’t be further from the truth, and yet, some parts of Twitter are convinced it was the heist of the century. Here’s what actually happened.
Did Cole steal Glambot from Joseph Kahn?
I keep hearing my name and Glambot. Yes I created it back in 2016 for E! The lighting, camera work, lens choices, and methodology are all my design. I ended up having to both operate and win a Grammy at the same time at the Grammys lol. It was too much. It’s fun but I’m busy. https://t.co/ex5h78LAEb
— Joseph Kahn (@JosephKahn) January 20, 2026
After all the Glambot scandals came out, Joseph Kahn confirmed he was the original creator on Twitter.
He wrote: “I keep hearing my name and Glambot. Yes I created it back in 2016 for E! The lighting, camera work, lens choices, and methodology are all my design. I ended up having to both operate and win a Grammy at the same time at the Grammys lol. It was too much. It’s fun but I’m busy.”
Then, after an uptick in people saying his work was stolen, he dropped another tweet rejecting the idea. You see, he never owned Glambot, he simply orchestracted it’s creative direction. In actual fact, modern Glambot is not what he originally intended anyway.
He explained: “Guys I swear I’m not salty. Just having fun. It’s actually very common in my career to do something and then a client takes elements, equipment, workflow, crew, methodology and replicate it without me. I know that sounds like shade, it’s not.
Guys I swear I’m not salty. Just having fun. It’s actually very common in my career to do something and then a client takes elements, equipment, workflow, crew, methodology and replicate it without me. I know that sounds like shade, it’s not. That’s just the nature of executing…
— Joseph Kahn (@JosephKahn) January 22, 2026
“That’s just the nature of executing for brands. It becomes their image. They paid for it, that’s the professional agreement, and you have to move on to the next idea. You just have to come up with new shit. There’s always new shit. That’s the game.”
As someone pointed out in the comments: “Guys, he literally said he’s onto bigger and better things.”
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Featured image credit: NBC and Scott Mc Kiernan/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock
