Jake Paul Has Been Accused of Sexual Assault by YouTuber Justine Paradise
Updated April 14 2021, 9:58 a.m. ET
Content warning: This article covers allegations of sexual assault.
A YouTuber and TikTok user under the name Justine Paradise has accused social media star Jake Paul of sexual assault, sharing the allegations in a 20-minute video she shared on YouTube on April 9, 2021.
“I feel really kind of awkward right now because I think about this a lot,” Justine says at the start of the video. “I think about it every single day. … This story is about Jake Paul. I was going to use a fake name, but if someone else — another girl — is in a situation like me and thinks that it’s just someone that’s nice and sweet. He’s not.”
Justine Paradise says she thought signing an NDA barred her from speaking out about the alleged sexual assault.
In the video, Justine says she knew about Jake, younger brother of social media star Logan Paul, but hadn’t watched any of his videos by the time a mutual friend introduced them at the Team 10 house in 2019.
“As soon as you go into the Team 10 house, right on the side of the wall, there’s this thing that takes your picture and has you sign an NDA form,” she says. “Also, that is why I thought I wasn’t allowed to talk about this … I thought if you signed an NDA, you’re signing away your rights to talk about anything basically.”
Justine says she and Jake hung out and got closer over the next few weeks, even kissing at one point. And one time — either late at night on July 19, 2019, or the early morning hours of the following day — he took her up to his bedroom in the house.
“We were dancing in his room — like, ballroom dancing, you know — and then we were like kissing and stuff, and then he took it to his bed,” she says.
Justine Paradise has accused Jake Paul of sexual assault.
“We were on his bed kissing for a bit, and then every time he would try to put my hand places or try to put his hands places that I didn’t want, I would just kind of move it away and be like, ‘No,’ and then, you know, just kiss. Just back to kissing,” Justine continues. “And then, at one point, he said, ‘If nothing is going to happen, then what’s the point?’”
Justine says Jake could have just left or let her leave at that point, Instead, he undid his pants and forced her to perform oral sex on him, she says. “What am I supposed to do?” she asks in the video. “I was still laying down. He was on top of me and holding my head into him. Like, I couldn’t even tell him not to. He didn’t ask for consent or anything. Like, he knew I didn’t want to do anything with him … and then he just shoves himself in me. That’s not OK. On no level at all is that OK.”
Afterward, Justine says, she wanted to go to the bathroom to fix her hair and makeup, but he wanted her to leave with him. “I’m like, why would you sexually assault me and then not even let me fix my hair and makeup?” she says in the clip.
Justine says Jake cut off communication and never apologized.
In the days that followed, Justine tried to text Jake but got no response.
“I just wanted to talk to him and tell him, hey, I didn’t consent for this. It made me feel so awful," she says. "… I never got an apology or anything like that. I would have liked to have an apology because that was messed up, and I didn’t want that. … Like, just because I let you kiss me and I let you hold my hand and I let you dance with me in your room, that doesn’t give you the right to come in my mouth.”
Justine says she knows people will assume she is releasing this video for attention, but she says that she just wants other people to know her story and heed her warnings, especially women who hang out with Jake.
“Even if you don’t believe me, at least it’ll be in the back of your mind when you’re with him,” she says. “You know, that’s what I’m doing this for. Am I doing this for attention? Yeah, I do want attention on this because it’s a problem that’s real and deserves attention.”
She ends the video with photos and footage to prove she was at the Team 10 house.
Jake Paul's attorney, Daniel E. Gardenswartz, released a statement about the allegations, writing, "Our client is aware of the recent allegation against him. While others have already begun to debunk the claim alleged against him, our client categorically denies the allegation and has every intention of aggressively disproving it and pursuing legal action against those responsible for the defamation of his character.
Our client believes that any false allegations diminish the credibility of those who have truly been victims of misconduct.”
If you need support, The National Sexual Assault Hotline is available 24/7 at 1-800-656-4673. You will be connected with a trained staff member in your area. Or visit RAINN.org to chat online with a support specialist at any time.