YouTuber and aspiring boxer Jake Paul has been accused of sexual assault by TikTok star Justine Paradise. It marks the latest in a series of misconduct allegations lobbed against internet influencers with major followings, particularly amongst teens and young adults.
Paul is well known for his brash behavior. Last year, for instance, he was charged with rioting and looting at an Arizona mall, a stunt he claimed was somehow meant to draw attention to Black Lives Matter.
In a 20-minute video uploaded to YouTube last Friday, Paradise claims that Paul in July 2019 forced her to perform oral sex on him at his home in California. Everyone who entered the home had their picture taken and was compelled to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA), she claims, which made her believe she “wasn’t allowed to talk” about the alleged assault.
Contracts cannot prevent someone from reporting a suspected crime to the police, and non-disclosure agreements generally cannot be used to conceal criminal activity.
After some consensual kissing, Paradise says that Paul took her to his bedroom, where the two continued kissing before he led her to his bed. Paul began to put his hands in places that made Paradise uncomfortable. After she rejected his advances, Paul allegedly responded by asking, “If nothing’s going to happen, what’s the point?” He then continued to make advances, she says, eventually placing himself on top of her and forcing her to perform oral sex. “He didn’t ask for consent or anything,” she added. “That’s not okay. On no level at all is that okay.”
Not okay —
David Dobrik, one of YouTube’s most popular influencers, saw a wave of sponsors cut ties recently following an Insider exposé alleging he was aware of rape and assault allegations made against people who regularly appeared in his videos. YouTube temporarily demonetized his channel, and Dobrik was forced to step down from his position at Dispo, a startup he co-founded in 2019.
The revelations brought attention to the questionable nature of videos released by Dobrik. Insider in its report noted a video central to the assault allegations, in which Dobrik’s friend Dominykas Zeglaitis, known as Durte Dom, lures several young girls over to Dobrik’s apartment in hopes of having five-some intercourse. One girl involved who was interviewed by Insider claims the group intentionally plied her with alcohol before Dom assaulted her.
New-era celebs —
YouTube, for its part, has to balance allowing anyone to upload videos with a responsibility to maintain a safe environment for advertisers and users. Cutting off creators’ advertising has been one way to reign in bad behavior, but YouTubers have diversified into other lines of business to protect themselves.
Paul has of late turned his career more towards aspirations in boxing and music, and uploads few videos to YouTube nowadays. Paul and his brother Logan got their start on the defunct app Vine, and both have run into repeated controversy over the years for erratic behavior and tasteless content, like an infamous 2018 video in which Logan filmed a suicide victim in Japan.
