I will not stay silent. Logan Paul needs to face the consequences for his actions. I have so many emotions while writing this, so I'll just dive right in.
Logan Paul started his "career" as a "Vine star" and in 2015 ventured into Television. He now has a total of 19.24 million on both of his YouTube channels, and is starring in YouTube Red series Foursome.
On December 31st of 2017, Paul posted a YouTube video of himself and his friends visiting Aokigahara, also known as Japan's "Suicide Forest". While in the forest they discovered a man who had hung himself. So, instead of putting the camera down to show some respect, Paul and his friends continue to record themselves as they laugh at this deceased man. They even get closer to the mans body, and blur him out, and use him to get views on YouTube. (note: this video was deleted by Paul a day later, after backlash started pouring in). This 22 year old BOY and his friends should be truly ashamed of themselves. Depression, suicide, and anxiety is NOT a laughing matter. Logan Paul should have stopped filming as soon as they saw this man, actually, he really shouldn't have been filming PERIOD. This this really grinds my gears for many reasons.
One reason is this HALF-ASS "apology" for his actions.
I am so angry at this. For starters all he talks about is himself, over 20 times. If you have been following this guy for a while you know he does a lot of things just to get views. All he talks about here is how he got views, how he does "this shit" everyday, and #Logang4life. Obviously I see where he says he is sorry, but he never really stated what for. He didn't apologize to the victim, the family, friends, or the young innocent people who saw his video. He's basically sorry people didn't interpreted it like he wanted them to.
Then a day later he posted this 1:44 minute video to Twitter.
For one: there are literally MILLIONS of CHILDREN who subscribe to his channel. Millions of 12 and younger children watch Paul's channel every week. They are a part of his Logang, buy his merchandise, and are currently defending his actions. I have read so many tweets about this situation today; where young children are crying to their older siblings about what they saw, others have friends who took their own lives, and even those who have attempted to take their own life. I just find it concerning and shocking that so many of his fans are defending his actions. These children probably don't even comprehend what suicide is. How once you take your life, you can never get it back. You can't bring back a friend, sibling, parents, or whoever. He knew how old his followers were, he knew this would make him money, and he new it would trend online. It is just incredibly disheartening that so many children are saying what he did is okay just because of his apologies.
Two: This video is such a trigger for those who suffer with depression and/or have contemplated taking their own life, or have friends/family who have. When you have depression you think, "Nobody would miss me if I was gone," "I'm not good enough," and "I'm a failure." As a person who has had these thoughts... I know what this video could do to someone.
And three: Depression and suicide are not laughing matters. Mental illness is real, and should never be a subject for a joke. Everyone knows someone affected by this or they are going through this illness themselves.
I just find this so situation very concerning for Paul, his fans, the victims family, and the YouTube community. Here are some reaction tweets by other content creators on YouTube, including the Dolan Twins.
I am really proud of those who are not staying silent, and calling out YouTube for a course of action. YouTube has not released an official statement on the situation (disappointing). I do hope YouTube will have some kind of consequence for Paul's actions. I also hope they realize that trending the video, instead of not letting him upload it, was wrong on so many levels. Logan Paul needs to do more than just apologize, he needs to donate his time and money to help those suffering with depression and thoughts of suicide.
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please call 1-800-273-8255 or visit https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org to get resources for yourself or for a loved one.
