Jake Paul: ‘My dad would slap the s–t out of me’ growing up

Jake Paul is accusing his father Greg Paul of child abuse in a revealing new documentary.

“My dad would slap the s–t out of me,” the YouTube superstar turned actor turned boxer reveals in “Untold: Jake Paul the Problem Child,” out on Netflix Aug 1.

“I don’t resent it. I’m understanding of why he did that. That’s all he knew,” Paul, 26, says of his childhood in suburban Cleveland, Ohio.

“He always said ‘life’s not easy, life’s not fair.’”

It was that toughness inspired by his father’s fierce ways that motivated him and older brother Logan to become YouTubers in the first place, Paul says.

“[Our father] was so hard and so tough on us that my brother and I’s imagination really started to flare up,” he recalls.

The film spans the highs and lows of Jake Paul’s life in addition to his transition into — somewhat controversially within the sport — professional fighting, post-pandemic. It includes extensive interviews with Paul’s family members and even the occasional celebrity cameo.

Jake’s celebrity older sibling, Logan Paul, 28, corroborates his younger brother’s experiences on screen, calling Greg “a menace.”

“Jake may throw around the the word ‘abusive,’ I prefer ‘not quite legal,’” Logan says.

“We’ve been through some s–t dude. It wasn’t fun, it was f–king torture bro. But when you survive that s–t you become tough as f–k.”

Greg Paul appears on camera numerous times, offering his own perspective on his boys’ rise to fame — and their early home life.

“I never laid hands on my kids,” he insists.

“I said, ‘Jake I did pick you up and throw you on a couch a couple of times,” Greg says. “That’s what the f–k dads are supposed to do.”

“Welcome to life, get the f–k over it.”

The Post reached out to Greg Paul for comment.

Although on camera both Paul brothers write off the alleged treatment as the secret ingredient in their success, Logan says Jake never fully healed from what occurred during their upbringing.

“Jake is still traumatized to this day about how my dad treated him. And they still don’t get along like they should,” Logan says.

While Greg has been a presence in his life for the most part including boxing, there have been times when that trauma has boiled over.

For example, prior to Jake’s shock boxing victory over retired UFC legend Anderson Silva last October, Greg recalled on tape that his fighting son “shut me off with no warning.”

Logan says the recent rift stemmed from the alleged abuse.

“Jake’s birthday, we all flew to Utah in this cabin. Jake was pretty f–ked up, so was my dad. There was a big group of people there. Jake mentioned my dad abusing him as a child,” Logan says. “They got in a huge argument and it hurt Jake so much that my dad refused to acknowledge the physical hardship that he put us through when we were young.”

The film doesn’t shy away from other difficult moments in Jake’s career.

There was his departure from the Disney Channel show “Bizaardvark,” brought on by Los Angeles neighbors complaining that the Paul brothers along with their friends turned the neighborhood into complete chaos with their over-the-top video antics, according to reports at the time.

The FBI also raided Jake’s California residence in 2020, seizing several firearms from the property.

A year later, TikTok star Justine Paradise accused Jake of sexually assaulting her in 2019.

“Both my dad and I felt worried for my brother’s life,” Logan says. “Jake’s always been pretty emotionally unpredictable and volatile. There was a point where we were both legitimately concerned that Jake was going to kill himself.”

“It’s not easy to be hated by the whole entire world. It creates a very dark mental place,” Jake says about his struggles throughout the years.

One thing’s been easy for Paul, however — turning his checkered past into a money making machine. By 2022, he’d accrued a $38M net worth — $30M in winnings — by weaponizing the “problem child” persona he now carries into the boxing ring.

As a fighter, Jake has a 6-1 record with victories over older mixed martial arts stars such as Silva and two wins over Tyron Woodley. So far, his only defeat came at the hands — make that fists — active professional boxer Tommy Fury.

Paul fights one time UFC superstar Nate Diaz on Saturday, August 5 at American Airlines Arena in Dallas.

And the brash young rising commodity has at least one huge supporter in his corner — one who is confident Paul is a literal game changer.

“He’s gonna save boxing as long as he continues to fight,” sport legend Mike Tyson says in the documentary. “He’s an antihero. He’s not a villain…He’s touched, he’s got the light.”