Logan Paul to Take a Break From YouTube Following Controversial Suicide Forest Video
Logan Paul reveals he will be taking a break from YouTube after his controversial video earned him the public's ire.
On Wednesday night, YouTube star Logan Paul has revealed that he will be taking a break from posting new content on his channel on the platform so that he could devote some time to reflect after stirring up controversy with his previous video titled "We found a dead body in the Japanese Suicide Forest..." which featured an actual deceased body of a hanging victim.
The 22-year-old's video, which has since been deleted, features Paul himself along with a couple of other people lurking around Japan's Aokigahara, which is infamously known as "suicide forest" due to the number of suicides occurring in the area. As Paul and company film through the forest, they happen to stumble upon what seems to be a person hanging from a tree, clearly deceased. Not believing what he was seeing, Paul called out to the body asking if it was a prank.
According to the YouTuber, his goal had been to spread awareness about suicide. Regardless, he had earned quite an immense backlash from his fans as well as celebrities and his fellow YouTubers for his "disrespectful" video. Paul has since apologized via Twitter acknowledging his mistake as well as his abuse of influence.
Nevertheless, thousands of individuals have clamored for the dismissal of Logan Paul from YouTube, saying the video should not have been posted on the site in the first place. However, Paul doesn't seem to be in danger of being removed from the platform.
"Our hearts go out to the family of the person featured in the video," a YouTube spokesperson said. "YouTube prohibits violent or gory content posted in a shocking, sensational or disrespectful manner. If a video is graphic, it can only remain on the site when supported by appropriate educational or documentary information and in some cases it will be age-gated. We partner with safety groups such as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline to provide educational resources that are incorporated in our YouTube Safety Center," the spokesperson added.