The FBI seized several firearms in a raid of the controversial YouTube star Jake Paul’s LA mansion.
At only 22 years old, Jake has had an incredibly successful career – if your idea of success includes annoying not just the entire internet but the federal government as well.
The raid, which officials say is linked to Paul filming a shopping mall riot in May, took place over several hours. It is the latest in a long string of scandals involving the former Disney star, who has over 20 million subscribers on YouTube.
Not his first scandal
While not quite as successfully infuriating as his brother, Logan Paul, Jake has managed to stay in the spotlight recently. Just last week, he was under fire for refusing to apologise for partying during the ongoing pandemic.
Jake began his career on Vine, before playing Dirk Maan on the Disney show Bizaardvark until 2017. Since then his professional highlights include releasing music some have called the worst of the year.
You could say that Paul is improving, given that his latest stunt didn’t actively harm anyone in the way that partying during a global pandemic could have. On the other hand, you could argue that an FBI raid would probably be the worst part of any normal person’s life.
While Jake’s still got plenty of time to decide he wants to change and become a normal member of society, it’s worrying the effect his actions could have on his fans. I’m not someone who would usually decry negative influences in media. However, as someone with a target audience of mostly teenagers, it might not send the best message to ignore social distancing and get on the wrong side of the police, let alone the FBI.
Is there a chance Jake might learn his lesson? It’d be a serious break from tradition. And with his influence only growing, it seems that controversy is working for him. Still, at least he’s not as bad as his brother.
