YouTube star Logan Paul apologises after mocking suicide body

A US YouTube star has apologised for posting a video that appeared to show the body of a suicide victim, saying he was "misguided by shock and awe".
Still taken from Logan Paul's video. Picture: YouTubeStill taken from Logan Paul's video. Picture: YouTube
Still taken from Logan Paul's video. Picture: YouTube

The clip uploaded by Logan Paul, which had millions of views on YouTube before it was taken down, showed the vlogger and his friends discovering a dead body in Aokigahara Forest - which is known to be a frequent site of suicides.

Writing on Twitter, Paul, who has more than 15 million subscribers on YouTube, said his intention was to "raise awareness for suicide and suicide prevention".

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He wrote: "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."

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"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. I still am."

Online comments have called the video "sickening" with celebrities including Sophie Turner and Aaron Paul taking to Twitter to lash out on Logan Paul.

The Game Of Thrones actress called the YouTuber "an idiot" while Aaron Paul, who starred in TV crime drama Breaking Bad, told Logan to "rot in hell".

Turner wrote on Twitter: "@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."

Aaron Paul added: "How dare you! You disgust me. I can't believe that 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."

Others joined in to condemn Logan Paul, with Twitter user Brayden saying: "Paul doesn't deserve his fame, or his following, or his money, or anything. He crossed the line this time."