YouTuber and professional nuisance Jake Paul, 24, has released a statement denying a recent sexual assault allegation by TikToker Justine Paradise. In the letter posted to social media, Paul calls the accusation “manufactured†and a “blatant attempt for attention during a highly visible fight week.†“These allegations come conveniently for her, almost 2 years after the alleged incident and the week of my fight (of course),†Paul continues. “At the time of her story I was in a relationship, and as someone who was a momma’s boy growing up, I respect women and mothers more than anything. I most certainly have never laid a finger on a girl without their consent. I will fight this to the end to prove my innocence.†As a result, he says will be “pursuing this defamation of character case to the fullest extent of the law.â€
Paradise shared her story in a YouTube video posted April 9, accusing Paul of forcing her to perform oral sex on July 20, 2019. She says she was not a fan, but met Paul through a mutual friend who was hanging out at the Team 10 house. She adds that “as soon as you go in,†your photo is taken and you must sign an NDA, which is why she believed she wasn’t allowed to talk about the alleged assault. “I was in the studio — some people were recording down there — and Jake pulled me into this little corner area in the studio and started kissing me,†she says. “I was fine with that. I did think he was cute.†Paradise alleges that Paul led her to “his bed,†where she says the assault took place. “Yes, it’s that he didn’t ask,†she continues. “I am upset about that, but even moreso, I know he knows that I didn’t want to do anything sexual with him because he said, outloud ‘If nothing’s going to happen, what’s the point?’.†I’ve thought about this literally every single day since it happened, but the more and more I think about it, the more I realize no one could be doing that and think that it’s something right to do. I was giving him the benefit of the doubt for so long.†Afterwards, Paradise claims he was cold to her and stopped responding to her text messages, as shown in screenshots. “Am I doing this for attention?†Paradise ends her video. “Yeah, I do want attention on this because it’s a problem that’s real and deserves attention.â€