YouTube star apologizes after being slammed for sharing suicide video
Logan Paul's fans defend YouTube video of Japanese suicide; his apology tops trending videos
Logan Paul angered Internet users over the weekend after he posted a YouTube video that featured him making light of an apparent suicide victim. But that criticism has only served to fan the devotion of his 15 million fans, who have made him one of YouTube's best-paid self-made stars.
Since the original video of Paul's trip to a Japanese forest known for suicides was pulled by Paul from Google-owned YouTube on Sunday, the fan group, also known as the "Logang," has taken to the star's Twitter, Instagram and YouTube channels to defend Paul or offer support.
"Im not taking sides. The suicide thing is absolutely nothing to joke about, but Logan shouldn't be hated on," wrote Twitter user @imedenperry early Tuesday morning. "He said humor is how he copes with his emotions. It wasn't right to laugh at the situation. But making him feel horrible about himself is equally not right. #Logang4life"
Can everyone please stop hating on @LoganPaul," wrote user @l0gang4lyfe late Monday night. "He’s a good kid with good intentions, who made an honest mistake #logang4life"
Can everyone please stop hating on @LoganPaul he’s a good kid with good intentions, who made an honest mistake#logang4life
Others responded directly to the star's posted Twitter apology note to let him know they were still with him. A number of fans incorporated the fan base's hashtag, #LOGANG4life, which Paul also used to close his original apology note, into their posts.
"Omg, your a human, you make mistakes," replied Twitter user @276_eli. "And if people can't understand that than they are not true fansi love you so much logan, #LOGANG4life"
Dear Internet, pic.twitter.com/42OCDBhiWg
Omg, your a human, you make mistakes, and if people can't understand that than they are not true fansi love you so much logan, #LOGANG4life
Similar to other Internet celebrities, Paul's fanbase is young and devoted. First rising to fame on the now-shuttered social media platform Vine, the YouTuber has over 15 million subscribers on YouTube, over 16 million followers on Instagram and over 3.9 million followers on Twitter.
Paul has been featured on Jimmy Kimmel's late-night talk show, filmed promotions for the Baywatch movie with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and has worked with brands such as Dunkin Donuts and Verizon to post ads for their products on his social pages.
Paul's Japanese forest video was viewed more the 6 million times in the first 24 hours it was published, according to New York magazine, which saw the original video before it was taken down. (Other Internet users have since re-uploaded the removed video back onto the platform).
In a second apology posted Tuesday afternoon to his YouTube and Twitter accounts, Paul implored his followers to stop defending him.
"I should have never posted the video," Paul says. "I should have put the cameras down and stopped recording what we were going through... From the bottom of my heart, I am sorry." Paul goes on to apologize to "the Internet," those who have seen the video, were impacted by mental illness, depression or suicide as well as the victim's family.
"For my fans who are defending my actions, please don't," Paul continues. "They do not deserve to be defended."
Top trending video
The apology video was ranked number one on YouTube's trending videos page for much of the day Tuesday, accumulating more than 5.1 views on the platform in a matter of hours and over 3.77 million views on Twitter in the less than five hours since it was posted there. There were 375,000 comments on the apology video posted to YouTube, and 23,000 on the Twitter apology.
Even with the new plea, Paul's fans have continued to flock to his defense, filling up the comments on both posts with support and defending him to others.
"Sometimes when i see people cry i smile because i dont know how to react that’s something you kinda did so...mistakes are mistakes," commented YouTube user Mimimy X.
"You don't need to apologize you brought up awareness and I have mental disorders and it actually encouraged me because I felt like u cared," wrote user Dj Crimson.
In a statement on Tuesday, YouTube said the video violated its Community Guideline policies and shared condolences to the family of the person who appeared in the video. "YouTube prohibits violent or gory content posted in a shocking, sensational or disrespectful manner," reads an excerpt of YouTube's statement. "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."
Follow Eli Blumenthal on Twitter @eliblumenthal