Controversial YouTube star and boxing champion Logan Paul has done what he does best and gone viral online.
Today (13 November), the 29-year-old US boxer struck a nerve with some X users, after he uploaded a video of himself destroying a $500,000 gold bottle of PRIME energy drink.
In honor of selling one billion bottles of the popular drink, co-founders Paul and his fellow social media star KSI issued a brand new challenge to their fans earlier this year.
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Fans would have to decipher the code that would open a case containing the solid gold bottle within 48 hours, with the lucky winner walking away with the prize, worth $500,000.
Though two children were able to crack the code in the United Kingdom, leading to KSI to crown a winner for the London Golden Prime bottle, the New York bottle had to be destroyed.
"Get closer, it's melting," the Sidemen star tells viewers at the solid gold bottle is plunged half-way into the lava-like substance.
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"You can see it.
"Oh, my gosh. That hurts. That's $250,000 gone. Gone. Just like that."
He then exclaims, "Oh, no!" as the rest of the gold disappears.
The social media move has received backlash from hundreds of YouTube fans around the world, with many believing that the bottle should instead have been sold and the money given to charity.
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"Such waste. 500k could have gone towards a charity. Can’t expect that from a Paul brother though", one viewer wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Another questioned, "Why so much waste? For ads?", while a third went on: "I would never root for that guy again could at least went to charity!"
Others, however, have defended the social media star, with many pointing out that the heat wouldn't have destroyed the solid gold.
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"The gold wasn't destroyed only the bottle, the gold will be taken and reused, so nothing here was actually wasted except people's time," one fan wrote. "This is for the ppl in the comments who don't understand lol."
Another added: "It's just melted... The advantage of gold is you can cool it down and it's still gold."
"The comments on this worry me. They are just melting the gold down…" wrote a third.
The controversial video was posted just hours after Paul sensationally announcing his retirement from boxing, admitting that financial worries inspired his decision.
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He told Fox Business: "I think I'm retired from boxing. I think I've done enough in the sport.
"I'm going to be a wrestler now. No more money in boxing, every company is going broke.
"It feels great. It was a dominant performance. Some frog splashes, some punches, it feels good."
Topics: Money, Logan Paul, YouTube, Boxing