Calabasas mayor calls out YouTuber Jake Paul for house party, sets new restrictions

After controversial YouTuber Jake Paul threw a large house party in Calabasas in the midst of a pandemic, Mayor Alicia Weintraub criticized the celebrity and said authorities will begin to fine people $100 for not wearing masks and shut down large gatherings.

Videos captured from the 23-year-old’s July 11 gathering show dozens of young people mixing without masks or social distancing. In the clips, carefree partygoers roll dice and drink, swing from a raised excavator crane and pull a car into the packed lobby of Paul’s Calabasas mansion.

“It’s completely unacceptable to be interacting with people like that during this time. People need to be wearing masks and people need to be keeping their distance. You can’t be having parties with over 100 people,” Weintraub said.

As internet influencers played at Paul’s house, Los Angeles County officials reported 2,916 new coronavirus cases and 57 more COVID-19-related deaths that day.

“Our numbers our rising,” Weintraub said, adding that the city has seen 174 cases of the novel coronavirus. Each of the city’s 11 COVID-related deaths and 52 of its cases come from nursing facilities, she said, but those numbers don’t make Paul’s party safe.

“Younger and younger people in our community are testing positive,” Weintraub said. “Even though a young person might not get really sick, they have the potential to spread it to someone else who could get really sick.”

Paul’s not the only Calabasas resident throwing parties. Weintraub said a recent baby shower brought in more than 200 guests. A wedding reception got a big crowd too, she added.

“People are not acknowledging that we’re living in the time of COVID-19,” she said.

The get-togethers are spreading the coronavirus, and the entire community lives with the consequences, Weintraub said.

“So many of our businesses are still shut down or are open with limitations. No child in the state is starting school in person. These are the consequences for parties like this: the constant spread of the virus,” she said.

The city will now work with the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department to shut down any gatherings that violate the city’s and county’s health orders, Weintraub wrote in a Friday media release. Authorities will also issue fines of $100 to people breaching mask rules.

The mayor said she wishes she didn’t have to put the new policies in place: “It just shows that some people aren’t taking this seriously.”

Weintraub also said she worries that the young people following Paul, who has 20.1 million subscribers on YouTube and has amassed nearly 7 billion views on the platform, will follow his lead and disregard health guidelines. She noted many other internet influencers shared videos from the party.

“I’m hoping he will turn it around, issue an apology, and start promoting wearing a mask,” Weintraub said.

Paul hasn’t done anything of the sort yet. During his most recent video, a friend mentions that the YouTuber is embroiled in scandal.

“I haven’t been in a scandal. I’ve been in a false accusation,” Paul said as a headline from an “Insider” piece about the party appeared. On Twitter, the celebrity reshared a post from YouTuber Tyler Oakley that showed video from the party.

A representative for Paul did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday, but Weintraub said one recently reached out to her.

“They apologized. They want him to do better. Only time will tell,” she said.