A BBC reporter walked out of an interview in Puerto Rico after Logan Paul sent a lookalike to meet him instead of appearing in person.
The incident occurred during filming for a BBC documentary titled “Logan Paul: Bad Influence”, which investigated allegations about the YouTuber’s crypto investments.
Reporter Matt Shea had travelled to the Caribbean island through Storm Ernesto to visit the gym owned by Logan and Jake Paul, after Paul’s team insisted on the location.
Upon arriving at the gym, Shea noticed an unusually high number of cameras and a pre-arranged staging setup.
BBC reporter Matt Shea stormed out of an interview with a Logan Paul lookalike
BBC
The reporter quickly realised something was amiss when faced with someone who didn’t quite look like the social media star.
“You look different,” Shea said with a knowing smile.
The impersonator responded: “I’m locked in, ready for this interview, do you have any questions?”
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@bbcthree “Rather than defend himself against the allegations we’ve been investigating, Logan (Paul) decided to troll us.” Logan Paul is one of the biggest influencers in the world, but he has faced criticism for his role in promoting various cryptocurrency projects. Matt Shea investigates the allegations against him and the power of his influence Watch #LoganPaulBadInfluence? now on #iPlayer ♬ original sound – BBC Three
“I have to say, the real Logan Paul looks very different,” Shea replied, before asking Paul’s team if the actual YouTuber would be appearing.
After the lookalike continued to insist he was ‘a serious person’, Shea decided to leave, stating: “Let’s just get out of here, I’m not doing this.”
Before he could exit, a group burst into the room carrying placards with Shea’s face, while the fake Paul approached him with a microphone amid anti-BBC chants.
Logan Paul denies the allegations made against him
Reuters
“So rather than defend himself against the allegations we’ve been investigating, Logan decided to troll us,” Shea later explained in a voiceover.
Minutes after departing the gym, the BBC team received a legal warning letter regarding their allegations.
The BBC allege Paul promoted crypto investments to his followers without disclosing his own financial interests, which is something the 29-year-old denies.
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In 2021, after Paul tweeted about a crypto coin, an anonymous wallet linked to his public wallet allegedly made a profit of £95,000.
The YouTuber is currently facing a multi-million-pound lawsuit over his CryptoZoo project.
The game, launched in 2021, was meant to allow users to buy NFT eggs that would grow into animals, but it reportedly didn’t work as intended.
Paul has denied any wrongdoing, instead pointing blame at the game’s developers.
Despite maintaining his innocence, he has offered a £1.8million buyback programme to address the controversy.
“I’m going to take care of the people who made me look like this was a scam perpetrated by me,” Paul said.
“I didn’t make any f***ing money, bro. I lost half a million dollars on this,” he added, defending himself against the allegations.