Netflix’s documentary anthology series Untold returned on Tuesday, August 1, with an episode following Jake Paul’s rise to fame on YouTube and in the boxing world.
Untold: Jake Paul the Problem Child included interviews with his brother, Logan Paul, and explored their complex relationship with their father.
“Our parents were really strict and mainly my dad — it was always Logan and I against him,” Jake said before Logan downplayed abuse accusations.
“Holy s—t. Yo, Greg Paul is a f—king being. He’s a menace. That guy’s intense,” Logan said. “Jake may throw around the word abusive. I prefer not quite legal.”
Greg was also interviewed for the doc. “You know, a lot of people go, ‘Oh, my God, you’re so strict with your kids.’ OK, give me your kid for two weeks. When your kid comes back, your kid’s gonna be a better kid,” he said.
“Yeah, my dad would slap the s—t out of me,” Jake claimed. “I don’t resent it. I’m understanding of why he did that — that’s all he knew.”
Greg then denied the claims. “I never laid hands on my kids. And I did tell him, I said, ‘Jake, I did pick you up and throw you on a couch couple times.’ [He said], ‘Well, I was afraid of you.’ I’m like, ‘That’s what the f—k dads are supposed to do,’” he said. “Somebody comes in here, they start harassing everybody and smacking around an old lady — do you want a couple Greg Pauls in the room or do you want some f—king fairy f—k, whiny little bitch who’s gonna sit there and talk about emotions? Who do you want the room?”
Despite the alleged abuse, Jake told the cameras: “Personally, I attribute pretty much all of my success to my father. He was so hard and so tough on us that my brother and I’s imaginations really started to flare up. So one day we get a camera and we just start filming our lives.”
As the numbers on both brothers’ YouTube channels increased, Jake booked his gig on Disney Channel’s Bizaardvark. The siblings continued to rise to fame and began feuding with each other on and offline.
“I think the way Greg raised us, combined with Jake living in my shadow for as long as he did, put a fire in his belly that is so hard to put out,” Logan said, insisting their issues weren’t made up for views.
Both Jake and Logan became associated with scandal, with Jake being accused of sexual assault (which he denied), terrorizing his neighbors and endless other antics — which led to Disney cutting ties with the influencer. Their respective controversies, however, brought the brothers closer.
“It was easy to pick me apart. It became a thing to hate Jake Paul,” Jake said. “It’s not easy to be hated by the whole entire world.”
When he was “two months away from being flat broke,” per his dad, Logan said their family feared for Jake’s life.
“Jake’s always been pretty emotionally unpredictable and volatile,” Logan said. “There was a point where we were both legitimately concerned that Jake was going to kill himself. He need purpose.”
Jake turned to boxing after “YouTuber brothers from the U.K.” — KSI and Deji — called out him and Logan to fight.
“What I learned in the entertainment industry directly correlates to boxing because boxing is show business. But first and foremost, it’s a show,” Jake said. “Turns out, we’re good at it.”
While Jake’s legitimacy in the sport has continued to be called into question, he found major success by teaming up with promoter Nakisa Bidarian.
“People don’t realize it’s a business first. It’s an entertainment first. And the better you are at marketing, the more entertaining, the more people are going to buy your fights. You know, that’s where The Problem Child came from,” he said. “I’ve always had that s—t talking nature. Growing up, all the uncles would be talking s—t to each other, yelling at each other, insulting each other. It’s just always been a part of me.”
Three years into his boxing career, Jake fought heavyweight champion Tyson Fury’s half-brother, Tommy Fury, the first professional boxer he faced in the ring in February 2023.
“You know what the through line is here? Me, Jake, Greg Paul, John Fury, Tommy Fury, Tyson Fury — we’ve all got some screws loose, bro,” Logan said before the match.
Tommy won by split decision but earned Jake the praise of some of his critics, including Mike Tyson.
“He does hero s—t, but he just don’t go by heroes’ laws, you know?” Tyson said. “He did more for boxing than some of the champions did. Listen, I’m a fan of people that know how to put asses in seats. … He’s going to save boxing as long as he continues to fight.”
Netflix’s Untold returns later this month with episodes about Johnny Manziel, Victor Conte and the Florida Gators.
