Logan Paul under fire after featuring underage girl in Flat Earth mockumentary
Logan Paul Vlogs, YouTubeControversial YouTuber Logan Paul unveiled his anticipated Flat Earth ‘documentary’ on March 20. Now, he is under fire for the video – but not for duping his audience.
Flat Earth International Conference organizer Robbie Davidson called out Paul in a Tweet on March 26, where he claimed that the YouTuber featured a 14-year-old girl in the video without her parents’ consent.
“Looks like Logan Paul is surprised!” Robbie wrote in a reply to one of Paul’s posts. “Why? He put a 14 year old girl in his movie without her parents consent. …Parents’ lawsuits aren’t pretty!”
Looks like @LoganPaul is surprised! Why? He put a 14 year old girl in his movie without her parents consent. Oooops. Parents lawsuits aren’t pretty! https://t.co/4Nqg0nWTaV
— Robbie Davidson (@MrRobbieD) March 26, 2019
While it’s unclear which individual Davidson is referring to, Paul interviewed a series of elementary-school aged children about the Flat Earth theory for his ‘mockumentary,’ as well as a slew of Flat Earthers at the Conference – although the childrens’ lines were likely scripted, unlike those of their adult counterparts.
While Paul has yet to address the claims, Davidson likewise announced an upcoming feature on ABC’s ‘Nightline’ discussing the YouTuber’s video at the Conference, claiming that Paul “exploited children” for his video.
“Explain to me how Logan Paul can get away with exploiting children without proper legal consent for a prank?” Davidson wrote in a Facebook post. “What is YouTube doing about this?”
omg pic.twitter.com/QqeVIJF3Kh
— Logan Paul (@LoganPaul) March 26, 2019
Davidson likewise spoke out in a video about the issue prior to his latest callout, where he said that he’d been “punked” into consenting to Paul’s film.
Despite Davidson’s claims that the underage girl required parental consent to appear in Paul’s ‘mockumentary,’ critics have since presented evidence to the contrary, noting that Colorado (where the Conference took place) is a single-party consent state in terms of film recording.
the flat earthers have spoken :gasp:
we’re gonna do a “tell all” video soon. y’all got any questions about the documentary you want answered? pic.twitter.com/r77B6AnNtg— Logan Paul (@LoganPaul) March 23, 2019
According to Colorado criminal defense specialist H. Michael Steinberg, consent must be granted by “at least one party” in terms of recording or evesdropping on phone calls – so it looks like Paul’s film checks out, for now.
https://www.hmichaelsteinberg.com/secretly-taping-recording-conversations-in-colorado.htmPaul himself claimed to be “going undercover” for the film to become “one with the Flat Earthers;” however, instead of a legitimate documentary on the community, Paul’s video played out more like a comedy sketch, duping those who anticipated his first debut into the field.