Quick Facts
Biography
The Mind of Jake Paul is a documentary web series created by YouTuber Shane Dawson. The web series was announced on September 11, 2018, through Dawson's Twitter account. A trailer and an extended trailer for the series was posted on his YouTube channel on September 11, 2018 and September 21, 2018, respectively. The series premiered on September 25, 2018 and concluded after eight episodes on October 18, 2018.
The series is presented by Dawson, who investigates the world and mind of controversial fellow YouTuber Jake Paul as well as the psychology of YouTubers. The series is edited by Dawson and cameraman Andrew Siwicki and produced by Jessica Buttafuoco. The series has over 120 million views in total. It follows Dawson's previous series, The Secret World of Jeffree Star, and is similar in format. Conspiracy Series with Shane Dawson—Dawson's following project—was released in this same formatting similarity.
The Mind of Jake Paul generally received positive reviews. Most criticism of The Mind of Jake Paul was directed toward the second video, "The Dark Side of Jake Paul."
Background
Before production of The Mind of Jake Paul started, Dawson thought about doing a video "...about the idea that YouTubers have to have some kind of personality disorder." The project stared with a series of tweets from Paul and Dawson, wherein they agreed that they would collaborate. Dawson also told Paul that the purpose of the series was to investigate if he was a sociopath, before the trailer was published.
Synopsis
The first four episodes in The Mind of Jake Paul are referred to as the "research phase" by Dawson. In the first episode, "The Mind of Jake Paul," Dawson states that the purpose of The Mind of Jake Paul is to investigate Jake Paul's psychology. Dawson investigates multiple allegations related to Jake Paul's behavior. Namely, Dawson discusses allegations of fake relationships in Paul's videos and assault allegations related to Paul's former relationship with Alissa Violet, with fellow YouTuber iNabber. In the second episode, Dawson interviews Kati Morton and discusses the psychology of Jake Paul; notably, he investigates if Jake Paul is a sociopath. As an introduction to the video, one of Jake Paul's vlogs are shown, showing him doing a "buried alive prank" with Team 10 member Tessa Brooks. Morton compares sociopaths to narcissists, and she states that "they have no empathy." In the third video, Dawson addresses controversy surrounding the previous video. He also discusses Logan Paul's response to the first two videos. The third video also discusses Jake Paul's family, and criticism of his parents. Concluding the "research phase" in the fourth video, Dawson interviews Nick Crompton, a former member of Team 10, Jake's vlogging group. Crompton states that the group still had the purpose of functioning as a business. Dawson discusses Alissa Violet's relationship with both Jake Paul and Logan Paul in the fourth episode, and Crompton also states that all pranks presented in Team 10 videos are fake.
Jake Paul first makes an appearance in "The World of Jake Paul." Kati Morton, the therapist interviewed in "The Dark Side of Jake Paul," enters the Team 10 house disguised as a producer. Paul, and his former girlfriend, Erika Costell, are interviewed by Dawson. Dawson compares himself to Jake Paul—they especially relate when comparing their childhoods. Morton says that she "feels bad" for Paul, and she also stated that she was suspicious about Paul. The penultimate video goes into further detail about Alissa Violet, Jake Paul, and Logan Paul. Violet confirms allegations that she had a relationship with Logan Paul. However, she also states that her public relationship with Jake Paul was fake. She also called Jake Paul an "emotional abuser." The series finale of The Mind of Jake Paul discusses Jake's thoughts about his videos and his personal life.
Cast
- Shane Dawson as himself: The host and creator of the series. He visits Jake Paul and documents his life: present and past.
- Jake Paul as himself: He is the subject of the series, where his past and present are talked about.
- Alissa Violet as herself: Jake's ex-girlfriend and former Team 10 member.
- Erika Costell as herself: Jake's then girlfriend, current COO and member of Team 10.
- Kati Morton as herself: A licensed marriage and family therapist who analyzes Jake in an attempt to determine if he is a sociopath.
- Nick Crompton as himself: A former friend of Jake and former COO of Team 10.
- Andrew Siwicki as himself: The co-director, co-editor, and cameraman of the series.
- Fraser Macdonald (iNabber) as himself: Provides Shane with general information on Jake Paul's online life.
- Daniel Keem (Keemstar) as himself: An online news reporter of drama and controversies surrounding other YouTube personalities.
- Ryland Adams as himself: Shane's fiancé (then boyfriend).
- Morgan Adams as herself: Ryland's sister and a former fan of the Paul Brothers.
Episodes
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Original air date | Viewers (millions) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 0 | "The Mind of Jake Paul - Teaser Trailer" | Shane Dawson Andrew Siwicki | September 11, 2018 (2018-09-11) | 7.2 | |
| The video shows Shane watching YouTube videos of Jake Paul. Shane expresses concern over how Jake will react to the series. | ||||||
| 0 | 0 | "The Mind of Jake Paul - Extended Trailer" | Shane Dawson Andrew Siwicki | September 21, 2018 (2018-09-21) | 6.4 | |
| The video starts with Shane giving hints about the idea he is formulating. He also states he will be using secret cameras to film things against Jake Paul's wishes. | ||||||
| 1 | 1 | "The Mind of Jake Paul" | Shane Dawson Andrew Siwicki | September 25, 2018 (2018-09-25) | 24.7+ | |
| This episode starts with Shane bringing up criticism of the series. Shane video calls iNabber to ask him about the history of Jake and Logan Paul. iNabber tells him the various controversies that the two have been in, and they discuss Jake Paul's YouTube persona. | ||||||
| 2 | 2 | "The Dark Side of Jake Paul" | Shane Dawson Andrew Siwicki | September 27, 2018 (2018-09-27) | 22.9+ | |
| Shane meets with a licensed marriage and family counselor (Kati Morton) regarding potential mental disorders of YouTube personalities. | ||||||
| 3 | 3 | "The Family of Jake Paul" | Shane Dawson Andrew Siwicki | October 1, 2018 (2018-10-01) | 17.3+ | |
| This episode starts with Shane addressing the controversy regarding the previous episode as well as Logan Paul's response to the series. Shane later performs an armchair analysis of the Paul family, looking at Greg Paul, Jake and Logan's father; as well as Pamala Stepnick, their mother. He declares his intent to interview Nick Crompton, a former member of Team 10, to investigate both Jake and Greg Paul's management of Team 10. | ||||||
| 4 | 4 | "The Enemies of Jake Paul" | Shane Dawson Andrew Siwicki | October 3, 2018 (2018-10-03) | 18.7+ | |
| Shane Dawson goes to Nick Crompton's house, interviews him, and discusses the controversies behind Team 10, such as the Alissa Violet drama and why Nick left. | ||||||
| 5 | 5 | "The World of Jake Paul" | Shane Dawson Andrew Siwicki | October 8, 2018 (2018-10-08) | 19.9+ | |
| Shane goes to the Team 10 House for the first time and meets Jake Paul face to face. Shane has Kati go undercover as his producer in order to examine Jake and his behavior in real life. | ||||||
| 6 | 6 | "The Secrets of Jake Paul" | Shane Dawson Andrew Siwicki | October 11, 2018 (2018-10-11) | 15.4+ | |
| Shane goes to Walmart with Team 10, and talks to Jake and Erika about the allegation that FaZe Banks assaulted Jake's assistant. Shane interviews Erika one-on-one about the influences in Jake's life. | ||||||
| 7 | 7 | "The Ex Girlfriend of Jake Paul" | Shane Dawson Andrew Siwicki | October 16, 2018 (2018-10-16) | 17+ | |
| Shane goes to the Clout Gang and meets Alissa Violet, interviews her, and discusses the real truth about the drama that happened last year with her and Jake. She discusses her experience with him in the Team 10 House as well as the Logan Paul and Jake Paul cheating drama. | ||||||
| 8 | 8 | "Inside The Mind of Jake Paul" | Shane Dawson Andrew Siwicki | October 18, 2018 (2018-10-18) | 24+ | |
| In the series finale, Shane interviews Jake about his past controversies, including the Martinez Twins' departure from Team 10, past disturbances in his neighborhood during filming his vlogs, the allegation that FaZe Banks assaulted Jake's assistant, Logan Paul's suicide video controversy, and his past relationship with Alissa Violet. | ||||||
Reception
The Mind of Jake Paul generally received positive reviews. Patricia Hernandez, writing for The Verge, called Dawson the "king of YouTube," yet acknowledged the backlash after "The Dark Side of Jake Paul" was published. Steven Asarch of Newsweek also acknowledged the backlash, but nevertheless concluded that, by the end of the series, most thought that Paul wasn't "just a crazy 'sociopath' who screams at babies and plugs his merchandise for most of his videos." Becky Freeth, writing for Metro, also noted that most reacted positively to Jake Paul after the series. CJ Feist, writing for Bradley University's The Bradley Scout, noted that while some criticized the second episode for seemingly trying to diagnose Jake Paul without his knowledge, no matter what, "it is an interesting watch and certainly exciting to experience." Julia Alexander, writing for Polygon, applauded Dawson for making the series feel like "it’s unfolding in real time."
Negative reviews mostly criticized the second episode of The Mind of Jake Paul for its editing style and usage of the term "sociopath." Tan2.311 2.311v-28.141z">