The popular vlogger and online personality Logan Paul has finally crossed the line on YouTube. The former Vine star has seemingly succumbed to what some are calling ‘toxic prank culture’ where the star pulls every manner of prank on people. However, it was a recent video where he seemingly mocking a suicide victim that got him in trouble.
Logan Paul’s video inside the ‘suicide forest’ in Japan gained over 6 million views in just one day. This video also sparked a great deal of backlash at the YouTube personality. He deleted the video, apologized and said he was taking time off to reflect on what he had done. More videos have since emerged of Paul harassing Japanese people on the streets with tentacles and Pokéballs. Now, YouTube has announced punishment against the man.
The troubling video is about Logan Paul traveling with his crew to Aokigahara, otherwise known as the “Sea of Trees” forest in Japan located north of Mount Fuji. The forest has garnered a reputation for the large number of people that have committed suicide there. In 2011, Japanese officials reported that over 200 people had attempted suicide in the forest. Logan Paul’s video was immediately deemed ‘tasteless’ with ‘lack of regard for suicide victims and their illnesses.’
As punishment, YouTube has revealed that although they are not removing his channel, they are removing it from the Google Ads page, cutting off almost all of his revenue. He is also getting canned from an upcoming web series, as well as shutting down a web movie project called The Thinning: New World Order. His video uploads will also be closely monitored and require pre-approval. Logan Paul’s brother, Jake who also rose to fame through Vine before transitioning over to YouTube, has not been without his own controversy through his own channel by uploading content deemed inappropriate for his younger audience.
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Logan Paul’s brother Jake has also gotten himself in trouble for exposing the personal address of Post Malone in a move called “doxing”, a term used to describe when you seek out private or personal information through the internet with malicious intent.
According to coed.com Logan Paul is estimated to have a net worth of up to $11.1 million dollars. This may prove to be significantly altered after his stunt with his latest video got him removed from his account with Google.
Logan Paul’s latest video features an apology to the people of the internet, to people who have been touched by mental illness, people who have dealt with suicide, and an apology to the victim and his family. Paul also addresses a note to his fans who have been defending his actions by simply saying “please don’t.” There is no word on what this means for Logan Paul’s career, but there have been no recent video uploads since. Recently, Paul was photographed on a night out with his friends, where he hid his face from cameras.
