After taking a three-week hiatus, Logan Paul is back on YouTube. His break was due to the horrifically triggering Japanese suicide forest video he posted in which he came across a dead suicide victim who had hung himself.
In this video, Paul decided to film the body up close, laugh at the whole situation, and then edit the video, watch the video, and then think it is ok to post this on the Internet for the world to see.
Well, the Internet did see the video alright, and they were NOT happy. Viewers took the Twitter to announce their disgust over the video. One user even shared her story of how she found her brother's body after he killed himself and how suicide is not a laughing matter. Other's voiced their concern over their younger relatives who are fans of Logan and how scared they are/were from seeing a dead body and being exposed to something so horrific at such a young age.
All this hate led to Logan Paul writing a half-assed apology to his fans in which he talks about how many views he gets on his videos. Then, he posted a video to apologize where he said that his videos are not meant to be harmful, that they are "for entertainment and to push the boundaries."
The Internet did not forgive him for his actions and said he only apologized for getting called out. After various complaints to YouTube, the company decided to cut ties with Mr. Paul by demonetizing his videos (meaning he will not profit off of advertisements on his video), canceled the movie production starring Logan Paul, and also stated that he will not appear in the newest season of a YouTube Red series he is apart of.
Anyways, Logan is back and posted a video called: Suicide: Be Here Tomorrow. In this video, he meets with suicide victim Kevin Hines who shares his story of surviving his attempt at the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.
He also meets with the director of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, John Draper who teaches him the five steps to help those struggling with depression and suicidal thoughts. At the end of the video, Paul pledges to donate $1 million to suicide prevention groups and how this is only the beginning of his journey.
Upon viewing this video, I have mixed feelings about his video. Part of me wants to believe that he truly changed and that he has learned from his disgusting mistake but the other half of me doesn't want to forgive him so easily. Aside from the horrific Aokigahara Forest video, a video of Logan shows him mocking the Japanese culture (even though "it's all about respect" as he claims) and running around Japan being obnoxious- where is that apology? If he truly was sorry, he'd post another video apologizing to Japan for his disrespectful behavior towards their culture and also their people. He should be teaching his fans that it is not ok to A.) make jokes about suicide and B.) disrespect others. Kids look up to him and he needs to set a positive example for his fanbase.
Furthermore, how can one be so ignorant about suicide? Logan Paul definitely knows more about suicide than he portrayed in that video. I understand not knowing the exact statistics but Logan Paul didn't even know how prevalent suicide is in today's society. He is an Internet Personality- meaning he is on the Internet a lot. Shouldn't he know by now how many of his fans have been tragically impacted by suicide? The amount of ignorance he shows is shocking.
If Logan Paul really does want to come back to YouTube and continue posting videos, he is going to have to prove that he is worthy. It is going to take more than just one well-edited video for the Internet world to forgive him.
If he wants to prove he has changed, he should attend different awareness events, give speeches about suicide awareness, and meet with more survivors and hear their stories. If his claim of how he has changed is, in fact, true, I want him to do all of this but without his camera and PR team.
If he can go without recording all these things and posting it on social media, then I will believe he is doing this to educate himself and better himself- not just so the Internet will forgive him. Respect and trust are earned- not given- and if Logan wants to continue his career, he has to do a whole lot more than just post videos to prove he's changed.
If you or a loved one is suffering from suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. Or use their online chat which can be found at: https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org.
