The past week has been a huge one for the influencer boxing world, with big names like Logan Paul, Bryce Hall, Austin McBroom, and more stepping into the ring to try their luck at the sport. But it hasn’t been quite such a successful week for everyone involved.
June has been a long-anticipated month ever since it was announced that Logan Paul vs Floyd Mayweather and TikTokers vs YouTubers would be taking place just a week apart.
In the past, these kinds of fights have generated huge amounts of attention, and as people like Logan progress further into their fighting career, people were even keener to see how he would compare to someone like Mayweather.
While these fights have dominated social media over the past week, that was by no means the full extent of the drama.
Bad Week: Trisha Paytas’ Frenemies exit sparks drama with Ethan Klein
The ‘Frenemies’ podcast has taken a serious hit after co-host and independent YouTube star Trisha Paytas suddenly left the show on June 8.
The series’ last episode was called to an abrupt halt after Paytas and Klein got into an argument about money and business, with Paytas feeling as though they were left out of important decisions in the company. Klein argued that Paytas was receiving a “generous” portion of the show’s profits and that he was free to hire staff as he saw fit.
The same day as the final episode aired, Paytas uploaded an emotional video explaining why they’d chosen to leave the show, claiming they had stepped back “to ease the tension everywhere.”
This prompted a heated back-and-forth between the two stars on social media, with Klein revealing that the show’s crew had received serious harassment on their personal accounts amid the drama and that he’d had no idea Paytas was leaving until they’d shared their video.
While Paytas apologized for bringing the issue up publicly, they then uploaded another video claiming that Klein had “lied” and “manipulated” the situation to viewers.
Thus far, it appears as though the podcast is well and truly over, marking an end to one of the net’s most popular shows that sprung up as the result of a previous feud between the two stars nearly two years prior.
Good Week: Austin McBroom beats Bryce Hall in fight
June 12 was the day of the long-anticipated YouTubers vs. TikTokers, a.k.a. Battle of the Platforms, and it turned out to exceed many viewers’ expectations, with plenty of drama, excitement, and more.
The ACE Family’s Austin McBroom took home the big win of the evening in his main bout with TikToker Bryce Hall, topping off a landslide evening for team YouTube, with five wins under their name.
In his interview, Austin thanked his loyal fans, saying: “The ACE Family is one strong ass army, and none of this will be possible without them.” He also gave props to opponent Bryce Hall for his efforts, adding: “A lot of people want me to continue to talk sh*t about Bryce Hall, but I gotta show him love because there’s not a lot of people who will do what he did.”
This wasn't even close. pic.twitter.com/GZtqyt8Ov6
— Dexerto (@Dexerto) June 13, 2021
While the evening was a great one for Austin and other winners like Vinnie Hacker, it didn’t quite go to plan for everyone involved. Tanner Fox and Ryland Storms weren’t able to go ahead with their fight due to a large weight difference, despite efforts to convince the commission to let it happen.
On top of that, controversy ignited online after Tayler Holder and AnEsonGib’s fight was declared a draw, despite Gib landing 47 punches over Tayler’s 21, with thousands of viewers claiming he was “robbed.”
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The success of the event has now got some fans wondering whether any of these creators will step up to fight each other again in a future event.
Bad Week: Dream accused of “catfishing” fans
It’s been a rough week for Minecraft YouTuber ‘Dream,’ who has been at the center of an ongoing Twitter storm among both his fans and his critics.
It all began after Dream appeared in an interview with fellow influencer Anthony Padilla. In the interview, Dream admitted to throwing out his ADHD medication, claiming he felt “way less creative” when medicated.
This comment sparked outrage on social media — but that was just the beginning of the scandal. In the midst of this, an alleged response from Dream reacting to concerns of racism within his fanbase also went viral, prompting further backlash from critics due to him appearing to deny anti-Blackness in his community.
During all the hullabaloo, a purported photo of Dream’s face took Twitter by storm, with a poster claiming the picture was legit, as it had been found in the personal Facebook profiles of Dream’s family members. This added further fuel to the ongoing fire, with angry fans and trolls claiming he’d “catfished” the community into thinking he was thinner than the purported photo suggests.
Dream has since responded to the incident by posting a computer-generated photo of a blonde-haired, blue-eyed man, with the caption: “Decided to face reveal… please be nice.” On his private account, he also called the hate “harmful & gross & idiotic.”
✧*。— Update!Thread from @dreamhangout! pic.twitter.com/thBkEw9NSV
— Dream Updates! (@dreamdates_) June 10, 2021
It doesn’t seem like Dream is letting the accusations of using a body double get to him — but he’s not the only faceless YouTuber to be put under extreme pressure to look a certain way, as evidenced by Corpse Husband’s reason for keeping his face off the net.
Good Week: Logan Paul fights Floyd Mayweather
The internet was left stunned when YouTuber turned boxer Logan Paul went up against Floyd Mayweather, in their June 6 exhibition bout.
Despite the match having strange rules, such as not having a winner announced, many expected, or in some cases wanted, to see Logan Paul get knocked out. Yet he still managed to defy the odds and emerge not only in one piece, but a few million dollars richer.
The draw result has even led to some crazy new theories from people who can’t believe Logan survived. The latest of which is that Floyd actually held Logan up after knocking him out in order to make sure the fight went the distance.
Mayweather alone teased that he was looking at $80M for the fight, not counting any PPV payouts or sponsor fees.
Former UFC champion Daniel Cormier was impressed with Logan lasting the whole eight rounds, but wasn’t pleased with Mayweather. “Hats off to Logan Paul. He went 8 rounds with [the] greatest boxer ever. Not a good look for Floyd,” he wrote, which even earned a “thanks DC” from one half of the Paul brother duo.
Although things will now inevitably quiet down following the end of these huge fights, it seems as though many creators are already looking to plan their next big event.
