Jake Paul Promoted His Fight Against Nate Diaz With Hateful Homophobia – And Why This Matters
Social media influencer Jake Paul made a surprising segue to professional boxing a few years ago. On Saturday, August 05, Paul fought UFC combatant Nate Diaz in a gimmick boxing match and won.
In the lead-up to the fight, Paul and Diaz were using homophobic and hateful slurs to psych each other out on social media, which has garnered them both backlash, reports Queerty.
Jake Paul using homophobia to promote his fight
Jake Paul is the younger brother of Vine and YouTube star Logan Paul. During his tenure as a social media influencer, the younger Paul brother amassed a significant online following by engaging in controversial pranks and problematic behaviour.
Continuing his legacy, Paul used his platform to spread homophobia against his opponent, Nate Diaz. Ahead of the boxing match, both men engaged in overtly anti-gay language in a ploy to promote the fight and intensify tensions.
Diaz ignited the homophobic rhetoric by attacking Paul’s employee and making disrespectful remarks about them both. “Get him the f*** out here. They are lacking respect, all the p*****s in your f****g f****t camp, motherf*****,” says Diaz. “That’s the problem… This guy is influencing the f*****g Island gay boys because they are mother f****** like you b****. You are the f*****g bad guy, and this little f**k right here needs his ass whipped,” reports Outsports.
Paul responded with threats of sexual assault and explicit language. “Imma bend him over and f*** him like a cowboy,” he says. Despite their egregious behaviour, their large followings mean their words reached millions.
This incident highlights issues of homophobia in combat sports, which historically lack LGBTQIA+ representation. While there are successful LGBTQIA+ fighters in MMA, the actions of figures like Diaz and Paul negatively impact the environment for other LGBTQIA+ athletes.
Their fight may be over, but the impact of their offensive language persists.
