Skip to content Skip to footer

Jake Paul won the fight, but what’s really good with his morals?

Jake Paul is representative of the current state of the internet, in that he is toxic, brash, and clout-chasing. And, he also packs a heavy punch. But really, what’s wrong with Jake Paul’s morals and will he ever learn?

This past Saturday was quite an impactful night for boxing. No, I’m not referring to Mike Tyson’s return to the ring after a 15-year hiatus to face Roy Jones, which viewers watched end in a draw.

I’m talking about one of the internet’s worst creations, Jake Paul’s fight against retired NBA point guard Nate Robinson, where he satisfied his 12-year-old fans with 2 KOs and earned himself a win.


A toxic, problematic, and repetitive history

Jake Paul has grown up in the shadow of his older brother Logan. Logan is known for filming the body of a suicide victim, laughing about it, and then uploading it for all of his 17 million followers – mostly minors to see. He gained 6.3 million views for this. And so we see what morals Jake Paul has to look up to.

The Paul Brothers’ boxing career started as a stunt to gain more views and followers. The duo fought against KSI and his younger brother Deji in 2018, where the two won.

Recently, Jake has been making questionable music which he passes off as rap. When he’s not being a general nuisance to everyone around him, he’s thinking up ways to scam his young audience (like passing off an online pay-per-view “influencer” educational course as a replacement for secondary education) which ultimately end in failure.

His post-Thanksgiving boxing match was just another attempt to maintain relevant.


We’ve seen Jake Paul and his morals before

Paul is just another loud, obnoxious, blonde-haired blue-eyed white man. That, paired with his young but dedicated audience, is a recipe for disaster.

A fanbase too young to see his lacking maturity and intelligence will defend him no matter what because they simply can’t see the problems in his behavior. Even more than that, they may try to replicate it.

If the extravagant displays of material wealth, constantly scamming minors into gambling, and the use of scandal after scandal to stay in the public eye weren’t enough to push viewers away… or at least make parents more likely to forbid their children from gifting him views; then his recent admissions are.

First, he said that the COVID-19 pandemic is a hoax and then stated he voted for Donald Trump in the most recent election, and all of this should be more than enough to make him worthy of critique.


Jake Paul’s morals reflect an internet culture of doing anything to gain clout

If the pandemic denial and Trump supporting is an indicator of anything, it’s that America’s most toxic problems all coalesce into one very wealthy young man.

After all, what could be more American than an untrained, inexperienced, incredibly crude and generally dumb white man, who gained fame and wealth from winning against a Black professional athlete? Did he need extreme talent or sincere morals to get to where he has become?

Like all YouTube influencers, all that matters to Paul is getting views. And like all of America’s wealthiest, as long as he keeps making revenue, he’ll continue to live with impunity.


Is there salvation for Jake Paul, especially while he’s on top?

It would be one thing if Jake did something to give back to his viewers. If he did any fundraisers or made how-to videos on editing, writing his godawful music, or videography. But he doesn’t.  

One could argue that his “Team 10,” influencer-style housing project and collaboration channels were an example of this by boosting up other creators, most of whom were just like him – loud, out-of-control, conventionally attractive white people. Yawn.

But, like everything he touches, that went to shit as well.

Jake: the internet, and possibly the world, would be a better place if your morals reflected your success. If you were empathetic. Kind with self-awareness. And knew when to put others on and be selfless.

Sit silently in a corner and think about your life choices. Forever.