Becoming a household name online has serious downsides once the online crowd comes for you. Viral creator Jake Paul is currently taking heavy criticism for repeatedly dropping the N-word during an improvised rap session.
This latest storm arrives only a short while after his older sibling Logan Paul faced worldwide condemnation for broadcasting footage of a deceased person hanging in Japan's "Suicide Forest."
In footage obtained by TMZ, Jake can be heard spitting the slur multiple times while freestyling atop Rae Sremmurd's "Throw Sum Mo" instrumental. Within 7 seconds of the recording, he delivers the line "little ass n***as."
Moments later, he raps: "I whip it like my n*a Richie Vetter, he make the puy so wet it gets wetter."
Jake and his representatives have not publicly addressed the recording. A person close to the situation, however, told TMZ that Jake harbors no racist views and has "matured a lot" since the footage was captured back in 2015.
That same insider mentioned that Jake had recently teamed up with Rae Sremmurd member Slim Jxmmi on Jake's holiday-themed album project.
On Twitter, the Paul Brothers appear to have worn out their welcome. Once word spread about Jake's rap, supporters launched the hashtag #JakePaulIsOverParty.
According to Buzzfeed News, the footage was shot at Coachella in 2015 by another YouTuber, Jeff Cyrus. The 30-year-old creator explained that he overheard an 18-year-old Jake repeatedly hurling the racial epithet and was stunned enough to pull out his camera.
"I thought 'no one's going to believe me, this kid is using the word so gratuitously', so I filmed it," Cyrus stated. He added that he spoke directly to Jake about the slur, urging him to "delete that word [from his vocabulary]," only to get brushed off with "juvenile BS."
Cyrus insists he wasn't the one who leaked the clip and theorizes that one of the three individuals he shared it with several months back may have handed it over to TMZ in response to the Logan "Suicide Forest" fallout.
Controversy is hardly new territory for Jake. Twin brothers Ivan and Emilio Martinez previously alleged that Jake bullied them and nicknamed them "Marteaners," which they argued stemmed from the slur "beaner."
Back in mid-2017, residents of Jake's Los Angeles neighborhood vented to reporters about him being a disruptive presence, claiming his stunts were turning the block into a "circus." His antics ultimately cost him his role on Disney Channel's Bizaardvark.
Logan Paul publicly stated he was stepping away from uploading content "to reflect" in the wake of the massive backlash his "Suicide Forest" clip received. Jake would be wise to follow suit.
