During the violent protests that raged across America on Saturday night, the Fashion Square Mall in Scottsdale, Arizona was one of the countless shopping areas that fell victim to vandalism and looting. What made the scene in Arizona different, however, was that the footage caught on screen wasn’t just captured by news crews, but also by infamous YouTuber Jake Paul.
Footage of Paul among the scenes of protestors looting was shared in a series of Instagram posts by Paul’s videographer, Andrew Blue. Although the posts have since been deleted, they showed Paul walking through the mall as protestors began to act destructively. Paul’s own social media posts included videos of police officers, who Paul repeatedly refers to in explicit and confrontational language.
The videos do not make it appear Paul joined in with the others who were damaging the property, yet the negative social media reaction was swift. In response to his critics, Paul denied that he participated in the looting, and tried to explain his actions in a post on his social media channels.
The YouTuber and sometimes professional boxer is a fixture in the frenetic world of YouTube content creators, boasting over 20 million followers and 6.5 billion views. Yet his online activities, often done in tandem with his brother and fellow YouTuber Logan Paul, involve a mix of humor and edginess that frequently has put him at the center of online controversies.
Jake Paul at Logan Paul Workout Showcase in Hollywood, California on October 22, 2019
But perhaps none of his past controversies are as big as the hot water he found himself in this past weekend.
As the nation finds itself in the grips of a deadly pandemic and emotional racial strife in the wake of the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis this week, the country has been grappling with serious issues at a serious time. And while it is important to take Paul’s apologetic words and well-intentions at face value, the truth remains that the YouTuber may have done something this weekend that is even worse than vandalizing property.
While the violence that has shocked the nation has grabbed most of the headlines this past weekend, it’s important to remember that it is the protests of excessive police violence that are at the core of this national trauma. There is real pain, felt by tens of millions of black Americans who fear for their families and for their own safety. It is that pain, accompanied by anger, that has drawn countless protesters of all colors and backgrounds on to the streets. There are also countless police officers trying to preserve life and property amidst the riots, and innumerable journalists who are risking their lives to share the stories of the protestors with the American public.
By shamelessly and selfishly injecting himself not only into a violent protest, but also into the national narrative, Paul did worse than stealing televisions and other property. He stole attention away from the real story of these protests – America’s historic and systemic racial injustice. By exploiting his attention as a social media star, he stole attention away from the actual protestors and their personal narratives of anger and hurt. And by calling out expletives to police officers and claiming his own victimhood, he recklessly disregarded the fact that his own privilege as a white man protects him from police violence every single day.
America is facing some of its most difficult days, and it is a time for difficult conversations. That includes conversations with people like Jake Paul who exploit their celebrity appeal for self-gratification. If ‘influencers”’ like Paul really want to contribute to the important work of exposing and combatting injustice, rather than making themselves the center of the story, they could spend time highlighting the stories that truly need to be heard.
So no, Jake Paul didn’t loot anything this weekend, but he did take away something important from the nation’s painful weekend. He stole some of America’s attention away from the topics that really matter.
And that’s not leadership. It’s larceny.
