Editor’s note: This article was originally published on MMAJunkie.com.
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YouTube star Jake Paul has denied what he’s calling a “manufactured accusation” of sexual assault made against him by TikTok personality Justine Paradise.
On Tuesday, Paul issued a written statement in which he dismissed Paradise’s claim as a grab for attention conveniently timed before his boxing match with Ben Askren. He vowed to pursue legal action in response.
“Not only have I never had any sexual relationship with this individual, but this claim is solely a manufactured accusation and a blatant attempt for attention during a highly visible fight week,” Paul said.
“Make no mistake, I plan on pursuing this defamation of character case to the fullest extent of the law. There are irreparable damages from these types of accusations, and more important, false allegations of this nature diminish those who have truly been victims of misconduct.”
In a 20-minute YouTube video posted last Friday, Paradise, 24, accused Paul, also 24, of forcing her into having oral sex during a July 2019 social gathering at his Team 10 residence in Calabasas, Calif. She opened her video by expressing hesitance for going public since the alleged incident took place nearly two years ago.
“The time going by doesn’t change anything,” Paradise said. “It still happened, and I still think about it every single day since it happened.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1iYfSdLORo
Paradise said Paul flirted with her via text message from across the house before they started talking, which eventually led to consensual kissing. Paradise said things moved to Paul’s bedroom.
“We were, like, kissing and stuff and then he, like, took it to his bed. Sex is very special and very important to me, but I haven’t had sex with that many people. I haven’t,” Paradise said.
“Normally, not all the time, but normally, everybody respects me when I don’t want to do sexual things, so I thought that it was fine if I went in his room, and I thought it would be fine to kiss him because I thought he would stop if I didn’t want to do anything else. Like, that’s normal. That’s what you do.”
According to Paradise, Paul kept trying to advance further by moving his and her hands to parts of their bodies, which made her “uncomfortable.” She said Paul told her, “If nothing is going to happen then what’s the point?” She alleged that Paul forced her into oral sex after that.
“When he got up, he undid his pants and grabbed my face and started, um, f—ing my face,” Paradise said.
She went on to detail how Paul got on top of her and controlled her head. She said it lasted “less than 30 seconds” and ended with Paul ejaculating in her mouth.
Paradise said he didn’t have any contact with Paul after that night.
Paul never mentioned Paradise by name in his statement and categorically denied the allegations.
“I most certainly have never laid a finger on a girl without their consent,” Paul said. “I will fight this to the end to prove my innocence. This isn’t the first preposterous allegation made against me in my career and it most likely won’t be the last.”
You can read Paul’s full statement below:
“Sexual assault accusations aren’t something that I, or anyone should ever take lightly, but to be crystal clear, this claim made against me is 100% false.
“Not only have I never had any sexual relationship with this individual, but this claim is solely a manufactured accusation and a blatant attempt for attention during a highly visible fight week. Make no mistake, I plan on pursuing this defamation of character case to the fullest extent of the law. There are irreparable damages from these types of accusations, and more important, false allegation of this nature diminish those who have truly been victims of misconduct.
“Again, this individual is directly using the attention from her social media posts and video to promote her adult content website and Amazon shopping list – designed for people to buy her gifts. These allegations come conveniently for her, almost 2 years after the alleged incident and the week of my fight (of course).
“At the time of her story I was in a relationship, and as someone who was a momma’s boy growing up, I respect women and mothers more than anything. I most certainly have never laid a finger on a girl without their consent.”
Paul is slated to fight Askren this Saturday in the headliner of a Triller Fight Club pay-per-view at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
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