For Millennials. By Millennials.
Popular YouTube superstars KSI and Logan Paul just gave their YouTube feud a whole new picture. The two took their online rivalry out into a a boxing match. And even when the match ended in a draw, KSI and Paul have agreed on a rematch.
The History Behind It
KSI and Paul Logan are surely two equally controversial YouTube figures. For the past months, they have both hurled insults at one another online which ultimately led to them fighting out their differences in the ring. But did the differences and hatred have any genuine reasons behind it?
Let’s look at the participants’ history.
Back when 2018 started, Paul Logan notably emerged as the most despised YouTuber in the community. He prepared a vlog in Japan’s Aokiaghara Forest which included bizarre parts like the footage of a man’s dead body with there being no justified reason for its inclusion. In fact, Logan Paul’s video resulted in numerous new policies and statements from company executives. Consequently, Logan Paul had to take a three-week break from YouTube, promising to do better.
At this same time, KSI was also involved in another attention-grabbing controversy. He participated in his first ever boxing match with Joe Weller. Without a surprise, Joe Weller and KSI’s match originated from months of online hate fabricated drama as well. The fight immediately became an unmissable event with both the stars focusing on the promotion of their own personal interests. A total of 1.6 million audience turned up to witness the live free-fight, and 20 million watched it online. KSI emerged victorious from the amateur boxing championship and found it good for business. While accepting his belt, he called out to fellow YouTubers Jake and Logan Paul.
What Sparked The Battle?
KSI’s comments were not missed by either of the Paul brothers. Logan was already recovering from the backlash his video faced. Jake also preferred to stay out of it. But they offered up their dad Greg Paul as a potential opponent to KSI. The suggestion fell right onto place with KSI’s new business strategy.
Which was pretty much nothing but challenging popular YouTubers to a fight, sparking a baseless drama online and then earning from it.
Although, KSI refused to fight against Greg Paul saying that it had to be one of the Paul brothers.
Right after KSI threw his challenge, both Logan Paul and family and KSI began a series of overly dramatic incidents online. KSI created an online poll asking people to vote on what other YouTubers should he challenge. The 43 days after the first call out to the Paul brothers, things got pretty intense. KSI’s brother Deji posted a series of vlogs challenging Jake Paul. The two even met at a local park armed with boxing gloves. But nothing except for vague insults were exchanged. Later, KSI himself met Logan Paul at his training center. The duo also threw some insults at each other, and that was all for the day.
Even though the feud was obviously fake, it kept everyone fairly entertained. In March, finally a KSI versus Logan Paul match was announced. Not just that, but Deji and Jake decided to have their own fight too. Ever since that day, a hype was created for the biggest battle to come. Deji and KSI uploaded daily vlogs to smack talk the Paul brothers. Press conferences, Instagram stories and pointless tweets flowed in. Trash talk remained at its peak until yesterday till the two finally faced each other in the ring.
The Biggest Event In Internet History
Apparently, the fight between Logan Paul and KSI has been labelled as the biggest event in internet history. 20,000 people gathered to watch it live in Manchester while millions watched it online. A lot many even paid £7.50 to get the full experience.
The six-round match between the famous YouTubers ended in a draw. For the first two rounds, Logan Paul dominated. But KSI had boasted of his strength all through the days before the match, and he soon recovered from the initial blows. All along the match, apart from the physical fight, verbal abuses and insults casually kept everyone entertained.
The fight became even more dramatic when Logan Paul’s brother Jake ran into the ring towards the end of the second round. And protested against KSI saying that he threw a punch after the bell sounded. Eventually, the judges took some time to calculate the total scores and the match got drawn.
However, both the contestants were determined on having a rematch. KSI said that it was fun and the only right thing to do was have another match. Logan Paul commented saying that he thinks he won the fight. According to sources, a rematch is decided to happen next year in the US, a third one might be in Dubai.
The Real Reason Behind It
Well, honestly speaking, none of the manufactured drama between KSI and Logan Paul makes any sense to someone with their sanity intact. Over the past few months, both KSI and the Paul brothers have been nothing more than an internet joke. They decided to hurl insults at one another, throw baseless challenges and abuse in front of their 19.4 million and 18.2 million subscribers respectively. But this online drama could well have just been for the views.
But YouTubers using fake dramas for views isn’t something entirely new. Creators have used the platform wrongfully for personal gains. KSI and Logan Paul feud is at the heart of moral dilemma. Is it justified to create a fake drama and even fight on it just so people tune in and pay to view the fight? Even if the fight was real, these Youtubers are promoting this message of challenging people for no reason and getting to extremes of actually fighting people.
Because let’s be honest, KSI and Logan Paul’s fight does not have one solid reason attached to it. In reality, it’s nothing more than a petty feud with vague half-hearted hatred.
Are We Responsible For It?
In one or the other way, all this dramatic feud between the two YouTube stars continued for this long because of us. It’s fairly obvious that this is KSI’s business strategy. He reaps financial rewards with the way millions of people watch these fights whether live or online. He uses this model for views, and we graciously give it. If we, the audience, weren’t interested in watching it, then KSI and Logan Paul wouldn’t have invested time and money into it. Perhaps, they’re not the wisest men of the century but they’re not that idiotic.
As a society, we have some weird obsessions that are hard to explain. But by giving into watching a senseless and baseless fight online just because we had nothing better to do, we’re helping those content creators to produce content that unnecessarily spews out hatred and promotes petty feuds. Perhaps we need to look at better sources for entertainment because if we don’t, then the overall quality of it will decrease and all the while decrease our moral standards as well.
