Social media influencer Logan Paul has thanked the animal rescuers who saved his abandoned pet pig from the brink of death.
Paul is best known for his YouTube channel and Impaulsive podcast, as well as being the older brother of YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul.
News broke on Tuesday that Paul’s pet pig Pearl had been discovered in a field with life-threatening injuries by members of an animal sanctuary.
The Gentle Barn, which operates in California, shared a damning video to TikTok, saying that Pearl was now safe and being taken care of.
“Pearl was found alone in a field next to another pig who had passed away. She came to us with tattered ears and a potentially life-threatening infection in her uterus that has since been healed,” the rescuers wrote.
“She’s clearly been through so much trauma that we can’t begin to imagine, but she’s now safe with us at The Gentle Barn.”
The sanctuary stated that it believed Pearl had been bought from a breeder by a social media influencer, and “sadly discarded”.
“People often buy ‘mini pigs’ or ‘teacup pigs’ for clout online, believing they will stay small. When they inevitably grow very large and have many unexpected needs, they’re sadly discarded.
@thegentlebarn Pearl was found alone in a field next to another pig who had passed away. She came to us with tattered ears and a potentially life-threatening infection in her uterus that has since been healed. She’s clearly been through so much trauma that we can’t begin to imagine, but she’s now safe with us at The Gentle Barn. From what we’ve been told, it’s believed she was purchased originally from a breeder by an influencer. People often buy “mini pigs” or “teacup pigs” for clout online, believing they will stay small. When they inevitably grow very large and have many unexpected needs, they’re sadly discarded. While we don’t know everything she’s been through in her past, we know her life is now filled with friends, nutritious foods, the highest quality care, and so much love. #pigrescue #animalrescuestory #abandonedanimals #pigsoftiktok #farmanimalrescue #thegentlebarn ♬ Where is My Mind? – Piano Version – The Blue Notes
Social media sleuths put together the pieces, and found that Paul supposedly owned a pet pig also named Pearl, with identical markings.
Back in February 2020, Paul shared a pictured of Pearl, explaining that he had thought Pearl was a ‘mini pig’.
“I bought Pearl over a year ago. I was told she was a mini pig … she’s not,” he wrote in a Twitter post.
“Like wtf happened here,” Paul said, alongside a picture of Pearl when she was a piglet.
Paul’s explanation
Paul addressed the controversy on Twitter on Wednesday, saying he was “beyond grateful” to The Gentle Barn for taking in Pearl, adding that he would do “whatever I need to aid in Pearl’s care”.
He also attempted to explain how this had happened.
“Pearl was rehomed to an amazing ranch that I visited in Santa Clarita when I moved to Puerto Rico. I was unable to bring her to the island,” he said.
“She lived there happily for 10 months before the owner sold the ranch. She was rehomed without my knowledge to the farmer across the street.”
Pearl had frequently appeared on Paul’s social media and YouTube channel when he was living in Los Angeles.
She also had her own Instagram page, which has since been deleted.
Mystery of the second pet pig
Following the news of Pearl’s discovery, fans are now concerned about the wellbeing of his other pet pig, Piggy Smalls.
Paul bought Piggy Smalls in 2021, as documented on his social media.
Fans are speculating that the pig found next to Pearl was, in fact, Piggy Smalls.
Paul denied this in his statement.
“As far as I know, the farmer called the Gentle Barn to pick her up, and denies there was a second pig — Pearl was transferred alone,” he said.
“This is an incredibly heartbreaking situation, I had Pearl for two years.”
It remains unclear what exactly happened to Piggy Smalls once Paul moved to Puerto Rico.
As for Pearl, Paul told TMZ Live that he had done nothing wrong, and claimed Pearl had lived a life of luxury in his care.
“I cuddled this pig. I slept with this pig. She was in my life for two and a half years, and she lived the best life ever.”
Growing list of scandals
Paul may be shirking responsibility in light of this fresh scandal, but he’s no stranger to controversy.
His most infamous moment online was his now-deleted suicide forest video.
In 2018, Paul posted a vlog in which he had visited the Aokigahara forest at the base of Mount Fuji, known to be the site of frequent suicides.
In the video, Paul and his friends encounter a man’s body, and proceed to make jokes about suicide.
The video cost Paul dearly, both financially and reputation-wise, and it took years for him to rehabilitate his image.
He also has an astonishingly bad track record with pets in his care.
In April 2019, Paul announced the death of his Pomeranian pup Kong Da Savage, who died after being attacked by wild coyotes.
Then, later that year, Paul announced that his parrot, Maverick, was killed when he was eaten by another one of his dogs, Ginger.
Logan Paul with his pets, Maverick and Kong da Savage. Photo: Instagram/Logan Paul
The Pearl scandal caps off a horrific week of press for Paul, who has also been accused of participating in a cryptocurrency “scam”.
YouTube investigator Coffeezilla, real name Stephen Findeisen, shared a three-part series to his channel about Paul’s CryptoZoo project.
Paul had claimed upon the project’s launch that CryptoZoo would be a “really fun game that makes you money”.
But in reality, Paul appeared to abandon the project shortly after it launched, and the so-called ‘Zookeepers’ that bought into CryptoZoo allegedly lost tens of thousands of dollars.
Paul initially shared a heated response to Findeisen’s exposé, saying his “addiction to clicks” had clouded Findeisen’s judgment.
He also threatened to sue Findeisen over his series, but later deleted the video, apologised to the YouTuber, and withdrew his threat to pursue legal action.
Paul later said on the CryptoZoo official Discord server that he would be “taking accountability, apologising and coming forward with a plan in the near future”.
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