YouTube Star Logan Paul has released a video apologizing for his recent video blog in which he filmed the dead body of a suicide victim in Japan’s “suicide forest.”
Popular YouTube star Logan Paul faced fierce backlash today after he posted a video blog in which he explores the Japanese forest of Aokigahara, known as the “suicide forest.” In the video, Paul comes across the body of a man that committed suicide in the forest. In the video, Paul talks to the camera as sad music plays shortly after finding the body and he apologizes to the “Logang,” the term he uses to refer to his fans. Paul then says that suicide is a serious issue, but only a short time later Paul was laughing at the deceased body and making jokes with his friends.
After being criticized by many across social media, Paul took to Twitter with an initial apology that many felt skirted around the issue and attempted to absolve Paul of any wrongdoing, rather than explaining it as an accidental moment of poor judgment.
Game of Thrones star Sophie Turner took specific issue with Paul’s apology in a tweet:
Paul has since released a video statement in which he states that he wants to “apologize to the Internet,” and asked his fans to stop defending his actions stating that what he did was indefensible.
BuzzFeed News reports that YouTube has since issued a statement on Paul’s video and why it was allowed to trend on their website. Many have accused YouTube in the past of giving preferential treatment to their popular users such as Paul. The company’s statement can be read below:
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan_ or email him at lnolan@breitbart.com