Logan Paul spoke out on Tuesday to address concerns over his pet pig Pearl. Paul adopted Pearl in 2018 with his then-girlfriend Chloe Bennet, and this week a video went viral saying that Pearl had been “irresponsibly re-homed.” As the situation took over social media, Paul joined TMZ for an interview to share his side of the story.
An animal shelter called The Gentle Barn posted a video on TikTok this week, saying that Pearl had been found alone in a field, apparently abandoned beside the remains of a recently deceased pig. When they brought Pearl back to their shelter, they found that she had some serious medical issues which needed treatment. The post became an admonishment to pet owners โ particularly social media influencers โ who take on a pet they can’t really commit to. Followers soon determined that Pearl was Paul’s old pet.
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On Tuesday, Paul clarified that this was indeed Pearl, but that he had not left her in this condition. He said he learned about Pearl’s predicament along with the rest of the world on Monday, and “she was not at the home I dropped her off at, which I visited myself and left her in great condition.”
Paul explained that, when he determined he would move to Puerto Rico, he found Pearl a new home with a ranch owner nearby in California. He said: “Apparently, that ranch owner moved to Nevada and could not take Pearl with her, so that ranch owner gave Pearl to the farmer across the street, and then from my understanding, that farmer called the Gentle Barn to come pick her up.”
Paul said that he second-guessed himself when the story first went viral, wondering if he really had done wrong by Pearl. He said: “Yeah, the verbiage they used was, ‘she was irresponsibly rehomed,’ so the first thing I did was I checked myself. I said ‘wait a sec, was she irresponsibly rehomed by me?’ Absolutely not, she was put in an amazing horse ranch where she lived an amazing life for 10 months. When that homeowner relocated and the pig swapped hands again, it was something that I didn’t know was taking place, and apparently, that farmer called the Gentle Barn to come pick her up. I found this out yesterday and I emailed the Gentle Barn immediately and offered to help in any way I could.”
“I cuddled with this pig! I slept with this pig! She was in my life for two to two-and-a-half years!” Paul went on emphatically. “And she lived the best life ever โ she was regularly bathed, ate meals that were, like, gourmet for a pig, had a 30-foot by 50-foot pen, had an apartment of her own โ like, I loved this pig! So, yes, seeing that video was heartbreaking to me. I thought Pearl was in a safe healthy condition. When I found out that she was not… It sucks, man. And I want to do everything I can to help, that’s why I emailed the Gentle Barn. And I was going to keep this private, but social media loves to do what they want, and armchair quarterbacks trying to make assumptions about who I am and how I treat animals.”
Now back in California, Paul said that he would love to visit Pearl if the Gentle Barn would allow it. He also hopes to make a donation and help get Pearl situated in any way possible. He said that so far the shelter has not responded to his messages.