YouTube Star Logan Paul Issues Apology Video for Filming Dead Body in Japanese ‘Suicide Forest’

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.

Dear Internet, pic.twitter.com/42OCDBhiWg

— Logan Paul (@LoganPaul) January 2, 2018

Game of Thrones star Sophie Turner took specific issue with Paul’s apology in a tweet:

@LoganPaul You’re an idiot. You’re not raising awareness. You’re mocking. I can’t believe how self-praising your “apology” is. You don’t deserve the success (views) you have. I pray to God you never have to experience anything like that man did.

— Sophie Turner (@SophieT) January 2, 2018

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.

So sorry. pic.twitter.com/JkYXzYsrLX

— Logan Paul (@LoganPaul) January 2, 2018

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:

YouTube's response to Logan Paul posting a video of a dead body pissed off a lot of people.

The video was up on Paul's YouTube channel for several hours, gaining over six million views and tens of thousands of likes before Paul removed it and issued an apology. pic.twitter.com/i4VNgNUQ8W

— BuzzFeed News (@BuzzFeedNews) January 2, 2018