On YouTube, there are two sides clashing with the intensity of a thousand trolls: the Jake Paulers and the Hila Kleiners. If you have a job and need to focus your energy on more important matters, you might have missed out on the drama Jake Paul has gotten himself into. From jumping on news vans to claiming his neighbors removed the bolts on his tires, the ex-Vine star has spared no time getting into trouble. His fans stand outside his apartment every day and night, waiting for just a sneak peek at the Paul brother they love so very much.
On the other side of the ring, we have h3h3 productions, a commentary channel run by Ethan and Hila Klein. The goof troupe has been crusading against the sudden invasion of Vine stars on the platform they call home, claiming the interlopers’ vlogs filled with reckless behavior and boring jump cuts aren’t benefitting anyone.
It all came to a boiling point when Paul released a vlog where he went to rapper Post Malone’s house. Malone ironically bought some of Paul's’ “Everyday Bro” merchandise for a video collaboration with h3h3, which the blonde-haired behemoth didn’t realize. He asked Malone to appear on one of his songs and thought the meeting went really well. Watching the vlog, you can tell that Malone is obviously frustrated and wants this creepy fanboy to get away from his house, which was put in the vlog without his permission. Paul essentially doxxed, or revealed personal information that wasn’t ever meant to be public, Malone.
H3h3 released a video about the incident, calling out Paul for doing something that is essentially illegal. You can’t just post a video of someone else’s home without their permission. It doesn’t seem like Paul cares about much nowadays, since he also released a video recording a conversation with his neighbor without their permission. It’s no wonder Disney dropped him from his Disney Channel show, Bizardvark.
Other YouTube drama channels have started to come back from the dead because of this controversy, Including DramaAlert and Pyrocynical , two of the largest channels of 2016 that suffered from algorithm changes and a change in appetite from the YouTube community. Drama channels that fed on the need for gossip and bickering among the platform’s ample starpower, were considered passé, a fad like fidget spinners. Now that there’s a new punching bag everyone over the age of consent can agree to hate, these channels are back with a vengeance.
Sides supporting either Jake Paul or h3h3 have started to form, creating a small but powerful internet rage machine. The h3h3 productions subreddit is filled with memes targeted at Paul, ranging from the funny to the outright aggressive. In late May, Paul tweeted that he’d like fans to not come to his house, even though he’s made his address publicly known. H3h3’s subreddit uncovered this relic and have been ripping him apart with some class-A material.
Jake Paul’s fans are a lot quieter, but still come out in force to watch his videos. No matter how hard you meme, it’s hard to squash the opinions of millions of pre-teens who love to dab and sing “Everyday Bro.” In the overarching scheme of the universe, a YouTube brawl with two of the site’s titans seems kind of pointless, but for a drama hound it’s everything. Whatever happens next for Jake Paul, know that I’ll be there with every reporter, ready to chronicle his next exercise in testing the patience of the adults with the money around him.
