"With great power comes great responsibility", at least that's what
Logan Paul stated after he was lambasted for posting a
video featuring the dead body of an apparent suicide victim. The YouTube star, who clearly didn't see the error of the ways when he initially posted the 15 minute video, has been branded as "disrespectful" and "disgusting" after he published the clip which depicted him and a group of friends exploring the infamous Aokigahara Forest (often referred to as the "suicide forest") at the base of Mount Fuji in
Japan and mocking an individual who had chosen to take their own life.
The 22-year-old American, who garnered over 15 million subscribers on the social media platform after he started making videos of himself and his brother, Jake Paul, "pranking" others, has since taken down the video. However, celebrities are not letting the matter lie. In fact, the equally controversial YouTube star, Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg - better known as PewDiePie - took to Twitter to roast his fellow video-maker.
PewDiePie satirically wrote, "Logan Paul goes to ''suicide forest'': WoAH wE f0UNd ded GuY here!!!!! s0 cRaZy! lEMme jUsT zOom in oN tHis F0r tHe Vl0g. OK guYs seRiousLy , lEAve a like if yur sad to0.."
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Breaking Bad's Aaron Paul also stepped in to condemn the YouTuber's actions. Paul asserted:
"Dear @LoganPaul, how dare you! You disgust me. I can’t believe so many young people look up to you. So sad. Hopefully this latest video woke them up. You are pure trash. Plain and simple. Suicide is not a joke. Go rot in hell. Ap."
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Logan Paul, who clearly went out of his way to locate a deceased body during his trek in Aokigahara Forest, has since taken to his personal Twitter account to apologize about how he dealt with this tragic discovery.
"I’m sorry. This is a first for me. I’ve never faced criticism like this before, because I’ve never made a mistake like this before. I’m surrounded by good people and believe I make good decisions, but I’m still a human being. I can be wrong.
I didn’t do it for views. I get views. I did it because I thought I could make a positive ripple on the internet, not cause a monsoon of negativity. That’s never the intention.
I intended to raise awareness for suicide and suicide prevention and while I thought ‘if this video saves just one life it’ll be worth it’, I was misguided by shock and awe, as portrayed in the video."
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"I do this sh*t everyday. I’ve made a 15 minute TV show EVERY SINGLE DAY for the past 460+ days. One may understand that it’s easy to get caught up in the moment without assessing the possible ramifications.
I’m often reminded of how big of a reach I truly have & with great power comes great responsibility… for the first time in my life I’m regretful to say I handled that power incorrectly. It won’t happen again."
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Not only was Logan Paul's video was incredibly misguided, but it may have been triggering to many of his followers. We can only hope that YouTube considers implementing stricter guidelines on posting such offensive and distressing content.
