Fans accuse Logan Paul of staging viral slap video

Controversial YouTuber Logan Paul seemed set to participate in the ‘Battle on the Volga,’ a slapping competition featuring some of Russia’s greatest slap champions – but Paul suddenly pulled out of the challenge, following the release of a now-viral video.

Paul uploaded a video to Twitter that has since taken the internet by storm, where Paul faced off against an opponent in a practice match for his upcoming slap battle.

The YouTuber cranked his arm back and delivered a solid blow to his opponent’s face, causing the man to crumple to the ground.

The release of this video came a day after Paul published an open letter to Russian media outlet Generation Iron, explaining that he would no longer participate in the slap battle due to “an unforeseen and unfortunate event” that took place during a practice session.

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While Paul later admitted that it was the slap in the video that prompted him to pull out of the competition, some critics aren’t convinced that Paul’s video is legit, accusing him of staging the slap for his upcoming documentary.

“This is so fake,” one critic wrote. “Firstly, if he was slapped unconscious, he would fall backwards. Secondly, why would Logan slap him and turn to the camera and just stand there flexing? So fake.”

“Okay, I feel this is fake, because if you watched actual slap competitions, the people who are slapped so hard… never fall like that,” another said of the matter.

Paul himself claimed that he’d slapped the man so hard, he’d forgotten his own name – as well as even being slapped in the first place, a major concern for the YouTuber, considering the man was a professional slapper.

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“I have never seen a human crumple like that,” Paul recalled. “It made me feel uncomfortable. I realized I don’t like hitting defenseless humans… what if that happens to me? What if I become the vegetable?”

[Timestamp: 4:10 for mobile viewers]

The YouTuber went on to compare the viral slap to his infamous debacle in Japan’s Aokigahara ‘Suicide Forest’ from early 2018, where he filmed the body of a suicide victim for a controversial vlog.

While he is no longer taking part in the Battle on the Volga, Paul claims that he does have a “full piece of content” in store for fans, which he hopes to release in the near future.