Jake Paul slammed after filming looters for video content during Black Lives Matter protests

1 June 2020, 19:01

Jake Paul accused of looting during Black Lives Matter protests

By Katie Louise Smith

Jake issued a statement explaining that he was not part of the looting, but people were still not happy with his reason behind "documenting" the vandalism.

Jake Paul has issued a Notes app statement after he was filmed alongside a group of looters during the Black Lives Matter protests in Scottsdale, Arizona.

An Instagram Story from Jake's videographer, Andrew Blue, went viral on Twitter, showing Jake walking through a mall that had been broken into and looted. Jake can be seen in the video walking with his vlogging camera, filming as groups of people break into a Sephora, smash a car, and loot a P.F. Chang's restaurant. That video has since been deleted from Instagram, but it's still up on Twitter.

READ MORE: 25 celebrities who are taking part in the Black Lives Matter protests

Since going viral, thousands of people have slammed him for his actions. And while the video doesn't show him actually looting or vandalising anything, he's also being called out for filming the whole thing for content for his channel.

In response to the backlash, Jake issued a statement:

“To be absolutely clear, neither I nor anyone in our group was engaged in any looting or vandalism.

For context, we spent the day doing our part to peacefully protest one of the most horrific injustices our country has ever seen, which led to us being tear-gassed for filming the events and brutality that were unfolding in Arizona. We were gassed and forced to keep moving on foot.

We filmed everything we saw in an effort to share our experience and bring more attention to the anger felt in every neighborhood we traveled through; we were strictly documenting, not engaging."

He continued: "I do not condone violence, looting, or breaking the law; however, I understand the anger and frustration that led to the destruction we witnessed and while it's not the answer, it's important that people see it and collectively figure out how to move forward in a healthy way.

We are all doing the best we can to be helpful and raise awareness; this is not the time to attack each other, it's time to join together and evolve."

READ MORE: Here's how to support the Black Lives Matters protesters

His statement drew even more questions and criticism from people on Twitter, with Hannah Hart and Elijah Daniel continuing to call him out.

Others called him out on the truth behind his location, stating that the peaceful protests were miles away from the area where he was filming the looting.

Singer Justine Skye slammed him, writing, "We don’t need your weak ass documentation. If you were about the peace, you would’ve encouraged those white kids causing destruction just for their selfish entertainment to STOP! Making actual PROTESTERS look bad. That’s how you help in those situations."

To find out more about the protests and ways in which you can help, visit: HERE.