A pig once owned by the Viner turned YouTuber turned boxer turned cryptobro Logan Paul was discovered abandoned maimed in a field near Santa Clarita, California earlier this week. Paul has now expressed gratitude toward Gentle Barn, the nonprofit that rescued the animal, whose name is Pearl.
Yesterday, the nonprofit Gentle Barn, an animal sanctuary nonprofit with locations in Tennessee, Missouri, and California, posted a video to TikTok explaining that the its staff found an injured pig named Pearl in the middle of a field beside a dead pig. Gentle Barn says that the pig’s ears were maimed and her uterus was infected, and that she had originally been purchased by an influencer from a breeder and was, at some later point, abandoned in the field where she was then found by Gentle Barn. Internet sleuths were quick to remember a certain controversial influencer that purchased a pig that looked just like Pearl: Logan Paul.
Logan Paul’s pig Pearl found nearly dead, abandoned and maimed. Absolutely disgusting pic.twitter.com/TKxZ1fy3MH
— Def Noodles (@defnoodles) January 9, 2023
“People often buy ‘mini pigs’ or ‘teacup pigs’ for clout online, believing they will stay small,” Gentle Barn wrote in the caption of the TikTok. “When they inevitably grow very large and have many unexpected needs, they’re sadly discarded.” “Mini pigs” are a smaller breed of pig than those used in meat production, but they still grow to be quite large. Paul found this out as well.
According to Paul’s Twitter account, he purchased Pearl in 2019. In a photo of her posted February 2020, Pearl had ballooned in size. While the Internet was quick to point the finger at Paul — who has been facing bad PR over a dysfunctional cryptocurrency game he created and promoted — TMZ reported that Paul is claiming he is not responsible for the injuries to Pearl while thanking Gentle Barn for their work.
“It was just brought to my attention that a pig I owned nearly two years ago, Pearl, was rescued and rehomed by your organisation. With every ounce of gratitude I have, thank you,” Paul wrote in an email to Gentle Barn. “It’s shocking and heartbreaking to hear the state she was found. I wanted to reach out personally and say thank you for taking her in.”
Paul explained that Pearl lived at Paul’s home in Encino, California for about two years until Paul moved to Puerto Rico in April 2020. Pearl was unable to move with Paul, so he rehomed her in Santa Clarita for 10 months. Pearl was then rehomed a second time, this time across the street after the initial homeowner in Santa Clarita moved. This is allegedly where Pearl was found by Gentle Barn.