‘Paul American’: Logan & Jake Paul’s Biggest Controversies, Revisited

Warning: The following post contains discussions of suicide and allegations of sexual misconduct.

The new Max reality show Paul American promises to show the “most raw, honest, and intimate moments” in the “over-the-top, high-octane lives” of YouTube stars Logan and Jake Paul. But will it be honest enough to delve into the brothers’ past controversies?

As Max notes, the Pauls have more than 150 million followers, a fight promotion company, a sports drink brand, a sports gaming and media company, a line of men’s personal care products, and WWE championships to their names. But they also have a years-long history of scandals.

After reviewing their checkered pasts, here are our picks for the Pauls’ biggest controversies.

2017: Jake says Kazakhstani man sounds like he’s “going to blow someone up”

Jake spurred racism accusations for an August 2017 YouTube video in which he meets a man from Kazakhstan and says, “It sounds like you’re just going to blow someone up. Like, send the nuke!”

As Teen Vogue pointed out, Jake’s quip doesn’t just come off as racist, it’s also insensitive, considering Kazakhstan was used as a nuclear test site for the Soviet Union and its people are still dealing with the resulting radiation.

2017: Logan shares footage of corpse in Japan

In a December 2017 YouTube video, Logan shared footage of a deceased man’s body in Japan’s Aokigahara forest, a site known for frequent suicides, as BBC News reported. He then joked about suicide in outtakes from the video.

Commenters called the video “disrespectful” and “disgusting,” and YouTube removed Logan’s channels from its Google Preferred program and paused its original projects with him. In a video apology, Logan said, “I should have never posted the video. … I’m ashamed of myself. I’m disappointed in myself.”

2017: Logan releases controversial “No Handlebars” song and video

After Logan interpolated the Flobots song “Handlebars” for his November 2017 track “No Handlebars,” Flobots’ Jamie Laurie responded with the diss track “Handle Your Bars,” accusing Logan of ripping off the band’s song and objectifying women, and the band later sued Logan for copyright infringement, per Westword.

“If you like someone, don’t blatantly bite from ’em,” Laurie told Logan in the latter song. “If you like women, don’t make a bike from ’em.”

Logan later released a music video depicting him literally riding women like bicycles. One of those women was Eliza Johnson, who told Psychology Today she felt “kind of abused” and “ashamed” by the experience.

2018: Jake posts NSFW thumbnail in video about losing his virginity

In January 2018, Jake posted a YouTube video titled “I lost my virginity,” the original thumbnail of which showed the vlogger lying underneath a seminude Erika Costell, who was then his girlfriend. Viewers criticized Jake for the thumbnail, since his YouTube audience at the time was mostly teenage girls and children, per Polygon, and Jake quickly changed the thumbnail to one in which both he and Costell are clothed.

2018: Jake drops racial epithets in leaked video

Days after the YouTube thumbnail controversy, TMZ released a video showing Jake hanging out with friends near Palm Springs, California, in April 2015. In the video, Jake freestyles over Rae Sremmurd’s “Throw Sum Mo” beat and utters the N-word twice.

2020: Jake hosts maskless party during COVID-19’s early days

In July 2020, one of the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, Jake hosted a massive party at his mansion in Calabasas, California. Footage from the event does not appear to show guests using masks or practicing social distancing.

“It wasn’t just myself who was outraged, it was everyone who saw the video,” Alicia Weintraub, then mayor of Calabasas, said at the time, per FOX 11. “They’re having this large party, no social distancing, no masks. It’s just a big, huge disregard for everything that everybody is trying to do to get things back to functioning. It’s really just a party acting like COVID does not exist; it’s acting [like] businesses aren’t closed.”

2020: Jake’s house is raided by FBI agents

Agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation raided Jake’s Calabasas mansion in August 2020 and seized multiple firearms from the property. In a statement, the bureau said it was “investigating allegations of criminal acts surrounding the incident at Scottsdale Fashion Square,” referring to a May 2020 riot at an Arizona shopping mall, per KABC.

The Scottsdale Police Department had named Jake as a participant in that riot at the location, and he was charged with misdemeanor counts of criminal trespass and unlawful assembly. Paul said he was trying to find people protesting the death of George Floyd and sought to “share our experience and bring more attention to the anger felt in every neighborhood we traveled through.”

Those misdemeanor charges were later dismissed without prejudice “so that a federal criminal investigation can be completed,” the Scottsdale police said in a statement. In August 2021, the Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona told TMZ prosecutors would not be pursuing federal charges against Jake in relation to the Scottsdale riot.

2020: Jake calls COVID-19 a hoax

In a November 2020 interview with The Daily Beast’s Marlow Stern, Jake said he thought COVID-19 was a “hoax.” He also claimed that the flu had killed just as many people as COVID-19 had and that “medical professionals have also said that masks do absolutely nothing to prevent the spread of coronavirus.” Those professionals, he said, were “dozens and dozens of [his] medical friends — doctors, people with PhDs.”

Jake later told The Verge that Stern had misquoted him and taken what he said out of context. Stern responded by releasing an audio clip from the interview, confirming Jake did call the pandemic a hoax, per the New York Daily News.

2021: Jake is accused of sexual misconduct

Two women accused Jake of sexual misconduct in April 2021. TikTok star Justine Paradise alleged in a YouTube video that month that Jake forced her to perform oral sex on him in July 2019, according to Entertainment Weekly. In a Twitter statement, Jake called Paradise’s claims “100 percent false.”

In a New York Times profile of Paul that month, model Railey Lollie alleged that Jake called her “jailbait,” made comments about her appearance, and once groped her after filming a video and ran out of the room after she forcefully told him to stop.

2023: Logan hit with class-action lawsuit over his CryptoZoo game

In February 2023, Logan and his associates in the then-defunct NFT-based game CryptoZoo were named in a class-action lawsuit that claimed the game was a “fraudulent venture,” according to NBC News.

“Defendants promoted CryptoZoo Inc.’s products using Mr. Paul’s online platforms to consumers unfamiliar with digital currency products, leading to tens of thousands of people purchasing said products,” the lawsuit alleged. “Unbeknownst to the customers, the game did not work or never existed, and Defendants manipulated the digital currency market for Zoo Tokens to their advantage.”

On social media, Logan claimed the game was “derailed by bad actors” who “betrayed [his] team while internally sabotaging the game.” He said he was “highly disappointed that the game was not delivered” and offered a $2.3 buyback program to compensate CryptoZoo participants, provided they waive their right to sue him over the venture.

If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by texting or dialing 988. If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call 911.

If you or someone you know is the victim of sexual assault, contact the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network’s National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call 911.

Paul American, Series Premiere, Thursday, March 27, Max

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