Fans are calling to “cancel” Jake Paul after the YouTuber was seen in videos of looting at an Arizona mall on Saturday, May 31.
The videos, which were posted to Instagram by Andrew Blue, Paul’s videographer and photographer, show the YouTuber, 23, and others at Fashion Square in Scottsdale, Arizona. Though the Ohio native is not seen destroying the shopping center, others around him are kicking in glass windows, breaking kiosks and more.
On his own Instagram Stories, Paul filmed outside Fashion Square. “Bunch of f—king idiots, bro. Literally I walked right here, right up to there,” he says motioning toward where police officers are stationed, “these f—cking idiots teargassed me. I ain’t doing s—t, bro. Look at them pointing guns at me.”
Over the footage he wrote, “America is in ruins.”
The “It’s Everyday Bro” singer later showed a closeup of his eye, writing, “I’m teared gassed [sic] my eyes are bleeding.”
After Blue’s videos were posted on Twitter, many called out Paul’s millionaire status and accused him for allegedly looting for vlog views.
“Jake Paul, a millionaire, is looting a mall so that he could post a YouTube video about it and add more to his wealth. You can’t make this s—t up,” wrote one Twitter user.
“This is absolutely disgusting,” added another.
Blue took to Instagram on Sunday, May 31, to clear the air. “Just for clarity, I am a videographer and my job is to document virtually everything. We were strictly documenting the situation and doing our part to use our platform to raise awareness about the horrific event and overall injustice,” he wrote via his Stories. “Nobody with us was looting or vandalizing, bit it certainly was tragic to see and while we understand the frustration, we don’t condone or support any behavior like that.”
Paul, who has been vocal in his support for George Floyd and his dissatisfaction with police brutality followed up with a statement of his own on Sunday.
“To be absolutely clear, neither I nor anyone in our group was engaged in any looting or vandalism,” he began.
“For context, we spent the day doing our part to peacefully protest one of the most horrific injustices our country has ever seen, which led to use being tear-gassed for filming the events and brutality that were unfolding in Arizona. We were gassed and forced to keep moving on foot. We filmed everything we saw in an effort to share our experience and bring more attention to the anger felt in every neighborhood we traveled through; we were strictly documenting, not engaging.”
The social media star then reiterated his stance on the current situation. “I do not condone violence, looting, or breaking the law; however, I understand the anger and frustration that led to the destruction we witnessed and while it’s not the answer, it’s important that people see it and collectively figure out how to move forward in a healthy way. We are all doing the best we can to be helpful and raise awareness; this is not the time to attack each other, it’s time to join together and evolve.”
