'I Was Rejected by Logan Paul in Front of Millions on YouTube' — Performer

Logan Paul regularly gets millions of views from his YouTube antics, but how does it feel to get swept up in his social-media storm?

British performer Tara Stapley came face to face with the influencer for a Sidemen dating video, only to be rejected instantly.

Paul is an internet celebrity in his own right, with tens of millions of subscribers and followers across several social-media networks. He's an actor, entrepreneur, and now a fully fledged WWE wrestler after recently signing a professional contract.

More than five million people have watched the video, which was posted late Sunday, with that number very likely to keep increasing.

Peeling back the curtain on how a Sidemen video is made, and what it's like to interact with Paul, Stapley shared her experiences with Newsweek.

The Sidemen's latest video is a special edition of their regular show, "20 Women VS 1 Sidemen." On this occasion, Stapley, who was paid £100 for her time, found herself as one of the 20 women after the team behind the video went through a talent agency to recruit contestants from a range of backgrounds.

Stapley is a 32-year-old actress, performer and presenter from Essex, England. In June 2022, she arrived at Kennington Film Studios in London, where she met the 19 other contestants taking part in that day's Sidemen video.

"When we got booked, we just got told, 'Sideman, YouTube.' That was it. But when we arrived, and there were exactly 20 girls, it was a bit of a giveaway it was a 20 vs 1 video." Stapley, who had never seen a Sidemen video before, told Newsweek.

The contestants were all held in a waiting room before KSI and Simon (and a camera crew) from the Sidemen came in and explained that the women would be dating Paul that day.

"Then it just sort of went silent," Stapley said. "It was a bit awkward really. Then a few girls were like, 'Oh, no,' but I kept quiet. Then, when they left the room, I was, like, 'Guys, who's Logan Paul?'"

Stapley said that a few of the contestants weren't sure who he was, and others were worried about his reputation and thought he was "controversial."

When it came to stepping out onto set to be faced with Paul, Stapley admitted she started to feel the nerves.

"We all lined up, and we were in this holding area. I went to the back of the line because I was near someone that looked similar to me.

"We went up to him one by one. We can say our name and what we do, but one thing they did say was, 'If he says no, just smile and walk off.' They were, like, 'Don't argue or give anything back. Just say thank you and walk off.'"

Out of the 20 girls Paul faced, Stapley was 19th in the queue.

When preparing for the shoot that day, she decided to go with something "classy." She said: "I wore my glasses and my secretary skirt. I thought I'll go down this road. So when everyone else is like, tanned and in Love Island dresses, I thought, 'Oh well, at least it's a bit different.' But, yeah, it's a bit nerve-wracking."

Back in the waiting room, the contestants did their research on their prospective date. "We looked up his net worth, and he's worth, like, millions and millions. It's funny the richer people get, the less they care about what they wear. We were all dressed up in heels and makeup, and he literally looked like he was on the sofa watching Netflix."

At the start of the video, it was highlighted that Paul had arrived at the shoot from the airport and he was jetlagged as a result.

"I saw everyone go one at a time," Stapley said. "I couldn't really hear but I could see who was getting yeses and nos.

"Then they got to me, I walked in and I go, 'Oh, hi, I'm Tara.' And he is kind of like, 'Hello,' and he's so American, I go, 'Or you can call me Tara,' in an American accent, because I know Americans struggle with saying Tara.

"Then he just went, 'Oh, it's gonna be a no. I've said yes to too many.' And I was like, 'OK, thank you, bye,'" Stapley said.

The Sidemen's "20 Women VS 1 Sidemen: Logan Paul Edition" video is 54 minutes, 18 seconds long in total. Stapley, who got £100 for her time, was on camera for a grand total of five seconds.

"I will say he seemed quite nervous." Stapley said, "Also, he was... like no offense to him, but he could have scrubbed up a little bit. I know he'd just come off a flight, but he was literally looked like he'd just got out of bed. I wanted to go and brush his hair."

Stapley has worked as a children's entertainer for big crowds, performed on Britain's Got Talent, and played several characters at theme parks, but this Sidemen video will be far and away her biggest audience yet.

With more than five million views on YouTube already, there are over 16,000 comments and counting.

"I do worry [about] social media and the day we live in, with people trolling on the internet," Stapley said. "People can say anything under those videos. I'm not going to be heavily featured, so I'm sure it will be OK, but people forget it's real people they're commenting on."

Update: 09/12/22, 11:10 a.m. ET: This article was updated to remove information about the contributor's workplace.