Shane Dawson has faced plenty of backlash amid his eight-episode documentary about YouTube superstar Jake Paul. Some have criticized Dawson for wondering whether Paul is a sociopath, and others have questioned why Dawson is already halfway through his series without even showing an interview with Paul.
In a video posted on Monday, though, Dawson finally got Paul on camera. Some of Paul’s revelations were fascinating—particularly his condemnation of the former members of his Team 10 social media incubation group.
In the video, Dawson showed himself visiting the Team 10 house where Paul’s group lives and works. Paul gives him a tour (and even offers him water) before they sit down and chat (Paul also pops wheelies on his dirtbike for Dawson and takes him for a ride in his dune buggy, complete with jumps that terrified his interviewer).
While Dawson doesn’t show the main chunk of their chats just yet, here are some interesting tidbits.
Paul says Team 10 members ‘used’ him
Five months ago, Team 10 was falling apart after the departure of Chief Operating Officer Nick Crompton, Paul’s longtime friend Chance Sutton, and a few other on-camera mainstays. There’s a trend of Team 10 being a revolving door, and Paul doesn’t have a problem saying what he really thinks.
“Everyone who’s left has used us,” Paul told Dawson. “I don’t think they realize they used us. But when these people come into Team 10, I give them everything: managers, agents, house, food, money, places to live, fame, cameramen, editors, brand deals. Everything. I give it to them. Then, they forget where they came from after a couple of months, and they’re like, ‘Oh, I can do this on my own. Why is Team 10 taking a percentage of my earnings?’”
His girlfriend, Erika Costell, responded by saying, “They don’t want to work as hard as you need to to stay there.”
Paul also said that when Sutton left the group, he stole the YouTube account he shared with fellow Team 10 member Anthony Trujillo and changed the password so Trujillo would no longer have access to their gaming channel.
Paul’s relationship with Erika Costell
As far as the longstanding rumor (and Paul’s own past admission) that Paul and Costell have a fake relationship, Costell insisted it’s real. Dawson asked her if it’s upsetting that many people say it’s all an act.
“No, it doesn’t piss me off,” she said. “Because we know. That’s all that really matters. … I don’t think it was ever fake. But we ‘got married’ the first day I joined YouTube. So, obviously, people are going to have that.”
In an earlier episode, Dawson got Crompton to admit that many aspects of Paul’s YouTube life are fake. But Crompton also said Paul’s relationship with Costell was real.
Paul on his evolution of ego
Paul said he used to be cocky but he doesn’t believe he is anymore.
“Looking back on it, there were definitely moments where I was cocky,” Paul said. “But to me, it was always in a fun and playful way … It carried over a little bit into YouTube and becoming successful. Before I just didn’t give a shit. It wasn’t like I even did whatever I wanted. I was moving a million mph. Now, it’s finding the balance. You have to learn there are consequences for certain shit you do, especially when millions of people are watching.”
During the shoot, Dawson enlisted the help of Kati Morton, a friend who is a therapist. Earlier in the series, the two had a long conversation about sociopaths, and Morton agreed to pretend to be a producer for Dawson so she could see Paul for herself. After they excuse themselves from the interview at one point, she tells Dawson that she feels bad for Paul (which makes her suspicious, especially because Dawson and Morton have established that one trait of a sociopath is to make others take pity on them).
Dawson, meanwhile, implies a few times in the episode that Paul might be a sociopath after all.
Here’s the entire fifth episode of the documentary.
Be forewarned: Dawson said he isn’t sure he’s going to disclose the “dark shit” Paul told him off camera in future episodes.
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