Controversial social media star Jake Paul — who has been called ‘a reality villain for the YouTube generation’ and ‘the most hated man in the world’ — isn’t doing a whole lot to right his reputation this week.
The 23-year-old Ohio native, who currently lives in Calabasas, California, is reportedly planning to shoot a new music video this weekend, despite restrictions California has in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
What’s more, the YouTuber appears to be using the music video to mock laws and law enforcement, as he plans to ‘reenact’ a recent FBI raid on his home where officers found illegal firearms.
What pandemic? Controversial social media star Jake Paul is reportedly planning to shoot a music video this weekend
Make believe: According to the listing, Paul will be ‘reenacting his recent run in with the law’ in the new video
Casting: He is looking to cast FBI agents and paparazzi to ‘reenact’ his recent legal troubles
On Tuesday, a Twitter user named Dani shared a casting alert she received from Backstage magazine.
‘Jake Paul casting for a music video during a pandemic about his “recent run in with the law” is so Jake Paul,’ she wrote.
According to the listing, Paul will be ‘reenacting his recent run in with the law’ in the new video.
Roles currently being cast are ‘FBI agent’ (a supporting character) and ‘paparazzi’ (background/extras). Oddly, while the FBI agent role his open to all ethnicities, the paparazzi roles are open to Southeast Asian/Pacific Islanders or white people of European descent only.
Later, New York Times reporter Taylor Lorenz share an Instagram story from Marcus Walls, who wrote that he is ‘looking for girls for a music video on Saturday … major production … Jake Paul.’
Possibly facing some backlash, Walls later updated his Instagram story to remove Paul’s name.
Open call: Marcus Walls wrote that he is ‘looking for girls for a music video on Saturday … major production … Jake Paul’
Tyler Oakley asked whether there will be coronavirus precautions, in light of past parties in Paul held with no precautions
Paul seems to be planning to ‘reenact’ an August 5 raid on his home in which FBI and law enforcement officers were seen removing several firearms.
Plot: Paul seems to be planning to ‘reenact’ an August 5 raid on his home
SWAT teams descended on Paul’s $6.9 million Calabasas home and the Las Vegas mansion of his graffiti artist co-star Arman Izadi in a dramatic dawn raid.
A source close to Izadi told DailyMail.com federal agents took computers and hard drives from the Vegas home and were looking for unreleased footage of Paul and Izadi at a mall looting in Scottsdale, Arizona in May.
The source also revealed that police searched other properties beyond the two mansions in the coordinated raid – though the FBI remained tight-lipped saying the case had been sealed.
Paul, 23, Izadi, 35, and a third YouTuber had filmed themselves at a Scottsdale protest over the killing of George Floyd, but were arrested and charged with trespassing and unlawful assembly after looters ransacked and vandalized the Scottsdale Fashion Square mall.
As dozens of SWAT officers in armored vehicles hit the influencers’ mansions around 6 a.m. on August 5, Scottsdale Police Department announced the Arizona state charges against the three men had been temporarily dismissed while the case was handed over to federal investigators.
Crime doesn’t pay: Dozens of SWAT officers in armored vehicles raided Paul’s home on August 5 and left with several weapons
Taken away: Multiple high powered weapons were seized at the $6.9 million Calabasas mansion during the raid for video information
Caught: Footage showed what appeared to be a high-powered rifle resting against the star’s hot tub in the backyard that appears in many of his recent YouTube videos
‘It seems they wanted to get their hands on technology to review any footage that may not have been released,’ the source told DailyMail.com. ‘That is what seems to be out of control. Why is it so aggressive for just that?
‘It was a shock to everyone… You just don’t see that every day, these huge SWAT teams. Everybody there was detained while they secured the property.
‘They asked [Izadi] a lot of questions,’ the source added. ‘They were asking him things pertaining to why they were in Arizona. We don’t fully understand how misdemeanor trespassing charges turned into a federal investigation.’
News chopper cameras caught federal officers carrying several rifles confiscated from Paul’s mansion during the Calabasas search, setting social media ablaze with speculation over the reason for the raid.
A spokesperson at the FBI’s Phoenix office confirmed the raids were connected to a federal investigation of the mall looting.
Echoing a statement released by Paul in June, the source insisted they were not involved in any looting.
‘This is definitely being trumped up,’ the friend of the YouTube stars said. ‘It was never anyone’s intention to go down there and loot. I know that Mr. Izadi and Jake didn’t loot anything. It’s hard to say what was going on with all of the people around them.
Trouble: Paul was charged with two misdemeanor crimes after he was seen at an Arizona mall that was being looted in May. He was seen in video taken at the incident
Paul released a statement that claimed he was not involved in any looting and was in the area for protests
‘There’s plenty of footage out there showing there were ignorant people around them that were encouraging bad behavior. There were people who they knew and didn’t know who were doing things that weren’t intelligent.
‘But of course the only names getting dragged into the media are Jake’s and Izadi’s. That’s always the position. Jake’s insanely famous and Mr. Izadi’s a good friend.’
The FBI said there were no arrests during the searches, and Paul’s lawyer, Richard Schonfeld, said he was out of California at the time.
In a statement after the raid, the Phoenix FBI office said, ‘The FBI is investigating allegations of criminal acts surrounding the incident at Scottsdale Fashion Square in May 2020.
‘This morning the FBI executed federal search warrants in California and Las Vegas, Nevada in connection with this investigation. The search warrant affidavits are sealed and we are, therefore, prohibited from commenting further.’
Scottsdale Police said: ‘Misdemeanor charges for Jake Paul, Arman Izadi and Andrew Leon related to their involvement in the May 30, 2020 Scottsdale Fashion Square riots are being dismissed without prejudice today.
‘It is in the best interest of the community to dismiss misdemeanor charges without prejudice so that a federal criminal investigation can be completed. Scottsdale retains the option to refile charges depending on the outcome of the federal investigation.’
Shoot ’em up: Paul’s affinity for firearms was made apparent by his tattoo of a rifle on his thigh
Laws don’t apply? A YouTube video uploaded by fellow internet personality Tanner Fox last month shows two AR-style rifles mounted on the wall of Jake Paul’s home
Weapons brought out of the home by FBI agents had previously been seen in a YouTube video shot at Paul’s house, which was uploaded by fellow internet star Tanner Fox last month.
The July 16 clip shows Paul, known for posting reckless and adventurous videos online, reacting to a prank after dozens of photos of his ex-girlfriend had been plastered on the walls of his room.
As he walks inside, an AR-15-style rifle and a shotgun can be seen mounted on the wall in the background.
Paul’s affinity for the semi-automatic weapons has also been made apparent by the tattoo of a rifle on his left thigh that has been visible in his social media photos.
Paul’s neighbors had also complained of hearing explosions coming from the property.
One neighbor told CBSLA he hears ‘big loud explosions at night,’ adding: ‘These are just mysterious, things in the night.’
Sorry not sorry: Earlier this month, he said he has no plans to stop throwing parties amid the COVID-19 pandemic
What pandemic? The 23-year-old faced backlash after throwing a wild party at his Calabasas mansion on July 14
Party time! A man who appears to be Paul is seen in this video where a crowd of people surround a table filled with red solo cups and drinks
Carefree: At the party wild attendees were seen swinging from a construction backhoe in the backyard
Paul’s plans to shoot a music video, apparently with quite a lot of cast members, is also the latest instance of the YouTuber flouting pandemic precautions.
The defiant YouTuber, who rose to fame on the now-defunct app Vine and is known for posting reckless and adventurous videos on YouTube, faced backlash after throwing a wild party at his Calabasas mansion on July 14.
Videos emerged on social media shortly after the party, where revelers showed no concern for social distancing or wearing protective masks.
People were seen drinking, playing beer pong, and swinging off a construction backhoe at the gathering. Revelers were both indoors and outdoors, crowded closely together without a mask in sight.
Locals near the Calabasas party reported seeing ‘tons of people walking on the street unmasked and then gathering.’
One of the videos posted on social media shows a crowd of people in what appears to be the living room of the home, where revelers were seen drinking as music played in the background. People were crowded close together on a staircase.
Another video shows hordes of people around a table filled with red solo cups of drinks. Yet another video shows people playing beer pong outside.
Condemned: Calabasas mayor Alicia Weintraub expressed ‘outrage’ over the ‘outrageous gathering’ in which dozens of people without masks drank and danced
Whatever! But Paul didn’t say that would put an end to his wild bashes, and insisted that it wasn’t clear to him how he should be behaving
No masks here! Video from the gathering shows people gathered around the staircase and ignoring social distancing measures
‘I don’t know what to think of it, to be honest. I don’t think anyone really does,’ Paul said about pandemic restrictions
‘No one has answers, our leadership is failing us, and everyone kind of just doesn’t know what to do,’ he added, despite several decrees on what to do from various government officials
Calabasas mayor Alicia Weintraub was left outraged after learning of the party and says she’s looking into ‘all options’ for penalties for Paul.
‘I was very upset that somebody would hold such an outrageous gathering in our community,’ Mayor Weintraub said after being notified of the event.
‘We’re trying to do everything we can to get our numbers down and keep our community safe, and something like this just does the opposite,’ she said to ABC News.
Paul later told Insider that he spoke to the mayor and ‘everything is cool,’ though he didn’t elaborate on what she said.
The mayor, meanwhile, said she didn’t speak to Paul at all, and only a representative for the the YouTuber. She said that possible fines would be issues in the future and the sheriff’s department would intervene.
Paul also said he had no plans to stop partying, and insisted that it wasn’t clear to him how he should be behaving.
‘I don’t know what to think of it, to be honest. I don’t think anyone really does,’ he said. ‘No one has answers, our leadership is failing us, and everyone kind of just doesn’t know what to do.
‘But I personally am not the type of person who’s gonna sit around and not live my life,’ he added.
Paul’s July 16 party was thrown in spite of California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desperate plea for people to be wary of the virus.