"Get with the times or get left behind": Jake Paul defends Calum Worthy's 2wai app and its AI HoloAvatar against online criticism

Pro boxer Jake Paul gave his opinion on the controversy surrounding the release of actor Calum Worthy’s 2wai app. Worthy recently caused a stir after launching his AI startup’s new offering, an app that lets people communicate with loved ones after their death through a ‘HoloAvatar.’

Paul responded to the backlash Worthy’s app received, which netizens said was a “dehumanizing” product that attempted to capitalize on people’s grief. While reposting Worthy’s ad for the 2wai app on X, Paul emphasized the innovation at the heart of the product and wrote,

“This era is just the start of these ludicrous but not so ludicrous ideas. Get with the times or get left behind.”

The boxer also added that he did not understand why people are responding negatively to the app, which is something that he admires. He wrote,

“Genuinely don’t understand people freaking out over 2wai. My great-great-grandkids will hang out with me and our lineage, learning family history, amazing stories, and comprehending the past in unimaginable ways.”

While sharing his own experience, Paul wrote about almost losing his father and talked about his hopes of how his family could stay in touch with his dead loved ones. He added,

“I’ve almost lost my dad; if my future kids couldn’t meet the legend (or a version of him) that he is, I’d be heartbroken. Also, for elders who suffer long depressions after losing lifelong partners, preventing loneliness is a win for society and elderly health.”

Genuinely don’t understand people freaking out over 2wai.

My great-great-grandkids will hang out with me and our lineage, learning family history, amazing stories, and comprehending the past in unimaginable ways.

I’ve almost lost my dad; if my future kids couldn’t meet the… https://t.co/rz3JwBjgob

— Jake Paul (@jakepaul) November 14, 2025

2wai’s co-founder Calum Worthy insists that the app is built to be an “archive of humanity”

2wai’s offerings were recently introduced to the public when Calum Worthy posted an ad on X, which featured a woman talking to her mother through a smartphone. The elderly mother first guided her daughter through her pregnancy, and then often spoke and guided her grandson as he grew up.

In the end, the ad revealed that the grandmother speaking via the smartphone was an AI-generated “HoloAvatar,” who was recorded by her daughter when she was still alive.

Calum Worthy co-founded 2wai, and Russell Geyser, a film producer, serves as the company's CEO, according to Forbes.

While talking about the app, Worthy said (via Screen Rant),

“At 2wai, we're building a living archive of humanity, one story at a time. It all starts with the social network for avatars: the 2wai app.”

During an earlier conversation with Variety, Worthy also shared that users can build their own likeness using the app and communicate with other personas, including that of Shakespeare. He insisted on the authenticity that the app aims at:

“With the launch of 2wai, we’re enabling entirely new experiences that are as authentic as the HoloAvatars we create.”

✨ They look human. They act human. They remember you.

Say hello to our most lifelike avatars yet.

👩 Meet Alina tonight. Tomorrow? Build your own.

🎯 100% in your control. Zero deepfakes.

Download free on iOS → link in bio pic.twitter.com/H3ZLT9rV4d

— 2wai (@2waiApp) October 11, 2025

In contrast to criticism that claims that the aim forces a loss of control over people’s likeness, Worthy told Variety,

“We saw an urgent need for creators and individuals to have agency over their own likeness – with their own avatars to use AI to amplify their voice, not replace it…2wai really puts the control back in the hands of the artists. This lets them engage fans 24-7 without needing to be online all the time. This platform enables this one-on-one, human-like connection.”

He also told the news outlet that he was considering the platform’s offerings “as a living diary.”