Logan Paul has spent about a decade getting dragged into internet drama, and at this point he’s figured out exactly how he wants to deal with it. Most of the time, that means doing absolutely nothing and waiting for everyone online to find something else to be pissed about.
Speaking on the Impaulsive podcast, Paul explained that he’s noticed controversy moves a whole lot faster online than it used to. In his experience, the average news cycle now lasts around 36 hours before people move on to whatever happens next.
“I noticed this, having been doing this shit and being in and out of drama cycles for 10 years. The average length of a news cycle is about 36 hours. And I say that number specifically because after 36 hours, bro, no one gives a fuck. On to the next random fucking thing that’s going on.”
Paul said things used to stick around for closer to three days, which meant spending 72 hours sitting in whatever mess was happening. Now he thinks the easiest thing to do is just put the phone down.
“It used to be a little longer. It used to be like 72 hours. You just kind of sulk for three days and kind of be in the shit. Now it’s like, bro, blink. It’s tomorrow. Put your phone down. You’re fine.”
There is one thing Paul absolutely doesn’t want to do during those 36 hours — respond. His logic is pretty simple. Every time you jump back into the conversation to defend yourself, you give everyone another reason to keep talking about it and basically start the whole controversy over again.
“Oh, put your phone down. Unless you respond. If you respond, the clock resets.”
That’s why Paul says people shouldn’t expect him to start firing back every time someone has something negative to say about him.
“So there’s no point. Anybody that ever has commentary on anything that I do, there will never be a response. There’s no response. As soon as you respond, bro, then you restart the clock.”
That doesn’t mean Paul ignores absolutely everything. Later in the conversation, he explained that there’s a difference between someone simply thinking he’s an asshole and someone making an allegation he believes could actually damage him or one of his businesses.
“I feel just so good knowing I’ve reached a place where it doesn’t fucking matter what you think about me. I don’t care. You’re entitled to your opinion. God bless you. Run that shit. Join the little community. Express yourselves. Connect with people who think like you. And I’m going to do the same. You do you. I do me. Life goes on.”
Paul said he pays more attention when he believes someone is presenting damaging information about him as fact rather than simply giving an opinion.
“Is this an opinion, or are you saying something that could potentially be damaging that is untrue? Like, I do take that a little more seriously.”
He brought up past claims involving Prime and PFAS as an example, characterizing those allegations as unfounded and saying that’s the kind of situation where he believes fighting back actually matters. And apparently Paul is perfectly comfortable spending serious money doing exactly that.
When Steiny wondered whether Paul had spent more than $10 million on lawyers over the years, Paul’s answer was pretty wild: “More than that.” Paul then admitted he’s happy to sue when he believes someone is lying about him, arguing that court is one of the few places where the truth actually has consequences.
“And being litigious is a way to get that truth out there. And so, for me, it’s worked. People watch what they say. We’re actually — I’m drawing up a lawsuit right now.”
Paul didn’t reveal who that lawsuit involves or what exactly happened, but he made his approach pretty clear. People can criticize him, roast him and make whatever content they want about him. He just believes there’s a line between having an opinion and making damaging claims that he considers false.
“There’s a lot of narratives about me that get clicks and headlines, and I encourage people to get their clicks and get their headline. Just make sure it’s true.”
So Paul’s strategy for surviving internet drama basically comes down to knowing which battles are worth fighting. If it’s just another angry opinion online, he’ll apparently wait 36 hours and let it die. If he thinks somebody crossed into something genuinely damaging, that’s when the lawyers might get involved.
Do you think Logan Paul has the right approach to dealing with online controversies, or can staying completely silent sometimes make things worse? Let us know what you think in the comments.
This transcript was produced exclusively for Ringside News from the original recording. Republishing the transcription in full is prohibited. When using excerpts, provide prominent credit and a link to this article.
