Jake Paul has responded to claims that he bullied fellow YouTubers Ivan and Emilio Martinez.
On Nov. 10, the 18-year-old twins explained why they decided to leave Paul’s Los Angeles-based social media cabal Team 10, claiming they endured racial slurs (the twins are from Spain) and bullying. That same day, Team 10 released a statement claiming their accusations were false.
On Wednesday, Paul said he’s sorry “as a leader and a friend” if the Martinez twins felt bullied. He also blames a “language barrier” on the twins not always being “fully aware” of what was going on in terms of their prank videos. He says the pranks might have been “too elaborate” for the twins to understand.
Paul claims he’s taking this opportunity to be a better “leader” and hopes this can turn into “something positive.”
My response to the Martinez Twins pt1. pic.twitter.com/aRduWRcKqR
— Jake Paul (@jakepaul) November 15, 2017
My response to the Martinez Twins pt2. pic.twitter.com/PyDaArBY4e
— Jake Paul (@jakepaul) November 15, 2017
The channel Trending WW posted Paul’s (deleted) pranks on the twins, which involved throwing water on them and waking them up with airhorns, leaf blowers, and vacuums. In a video posted Monday, Ivan and Emilio recounted how much they admired and looked up to Paul, but reiterated that he called them “beaner” and made fun of their English.
Paul also said in his “apology” that he wished the twins had come forward about how they were feeling and that it might have “fixed the whole situation,” subtly placing the blame on them for not speaking up.