Logan Paul has been extremely popular with the younger generation on YouTube for about a year and a half. With over 15 million subscribers and 16 million Instagram followers, Paul is currently one of the most popular social media stars.
Recently, Paul faced criticism after posting a video where he and three of his friends entered the forest called Aokigahara, also known as Suicide Forest in Japan. The forest is known for its unfriendly atmosphere where many people go to commit suicide. It is located at the base of Mount Fuji, located 62 miles southwest of Tokyo.
Paul and his friends went to Tokyo to celebrate New Year’s and decided to take a trip to Aokigahara forest for a challenge, where they would be spend the night. In his You Tube video, he and his friends entered the forest wanting to find a place to pitch their tent, but quickly had a change of heart when they discovered a body hanging from a tree. Paul filmed the situation showing his shock and disbelief of what he and his friends had found in the forest.
People reacted to the video in disgust because they thought it was disrespectful to those who suffer from depression and to the family of the person who took his own life.
People and celebrities criticized Logan Paul for his actions, including Sophie Turner, who tweeted:
https://twitter.com/SophieT/status/948042559229759488
Other well known You Tubers such as Ethan and Grayson Dolan tweeted:
Suicide is serious. People have lost loved ones, idols, hero’s, fans to suicide. Filming a video and mocking a victim is not raising suicide awareness. Laughing at the body of a poor depressed soul. I can’t believe the disrespect of the victim, their family, and your YOUNG fans.
— Grayson Dolan (@GraysonDolan) January 2, 2018
The horrible measures people will go to in order to have content to stay relevant is absolutely disgusting. Being blinded by your ego so much so that thinking it is okay to make insensitive remarks about suicide, and broadcasting it for millions of CHILDREN to see is sickening.
— Ethan Dolan (@EthanDolan) January 2, 2018
Most people were disgusted by the fact that fans of Logan Paul were defending him. Paul went onto apologize for his actions by posting a video, as well as tweeting a written apology the previous night.
So sorry. pic.twitter.com/JkYXzYsrLX
— Logan Paul (@LoganPaul) January 2, 2018
Dear Internet, pic.twitter.com/42OCDBhiWg
— Logan Paul (@LoganPaul) January 2, 2018
Fans of Logan Paul are defending him while most of the world is currently unforgiving. Most people are also blaming YouTube for the fact that the video was trending. With suicide being a hot topic and it’s only two days into 2018, what will this mean for the rest of 2018 for YouTube? Hopefully it changes things in a positive way.
In response to this situation, Logan Paul has decided to take a break from vlogging for a while and take time to reflect on the situation. Paul tweeted:
taking time to reflect
no vlog for now
see you soon— Logan Paul (@LoganPaul) January 4, 2018
If you or someone you know has been having suicidal thoughts, call the National Suicide Number Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255
