On Monday, Logan Paul, a popular YouTuber with over 15 million subscribers on his vlog channel, posted a video featuring the Japanese forest Aokigahara, more commonly known as the “Suicide Forest.” The video showed the YouTuber walking around the forest, finding the body of an individual who hanged himself (with the face blurred out) and making comments about both the deceased and the situation he and his group found themselves in.
He states that “Depression and mental illnesses is not a joke. We came here with the intent to focus on the haunted aspect of the forest. This just became very real.”
As the group becomes more uncomfortable he laughs and says “What, you never stand next to a dead guy?” After posting the video online for a few hours, he received a storm of objections and outcries from internet influencers and celebrities online.
logan paul gotta go
— Andrea Russett (@AndreaRussett) January 2, 2018
Hoo boy, “YouTuber for tweens Logan Paul finds dead body in Aokigahara forest in Japan” is like a Mad Libs fever dream and it’s only day one of 2018.
— Caitlin Doughty (@TheGoodDeath) January 2, 2018
For those who do not know the history or cultural significance of Aokigahara, the forest sits at the base of Mt. Fuji and is populated with a high density of trees, thus it’s nickname “Sea of Trees,” and little to no wildlife. It has long been thought of as “haunted” because of its quiet stillness. It has also been dubbed the “Suicide Forest” for the number of suicides that were reported and rumored to happen within the forest. The trend peaked in 2004 with 108 suicides. Many tourists visit every year hoping to experience the haunted aspects of the forest. Paul found and posted something more than just ghosts.
The YouTuber and his group were visibly shaken up in the video after finding the body. In an attempt to lighten the mood, they did shots of sake in the parking lot. Paul cracked a few jokes, and then stated that comedy was his coping mechanism for such events. He later urged two other tourists of the forest, including a small child, to “not go over there.”
After the video began receiving severe backlash online, Paul removed the video from his YouTube account. Many were angry about his clear intention of using this victim of suicide as clickbait to gain more views on his video and channel.
PSA: suicide is a very serious and sensitive subject and definitely not a topic that should be disrespectfully used for shock value to get views on a youtube video, especially when millions of very young viewers will see it. ALSO ESPECIALLY filming the body???
— Ricky Dillon (@RickyPDillon) January 2, 2018
Many were also very angry about his glib joke in the video.
Logan Paul laughing at a dead body. Horrible ‘man’ pic.twitter.com/vQcIUOJab0
— Joseph Harris (@JosephHarrisPT) January 2, 2018
Dear @LoganPaul,
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.
Ap
— Aaron Paul (@aaronpaul_8) January 2, 2018
Later on, he tweeted an apology.
Dear Internet, pic.twitter.com/42OCDBhiWg
— Logan Paul (@LoganPaul) January 2, 2018
But this apology was not received well.
Lmao you think an apology will make us forget about what you did? No. You’re canceled. GOODBYE
— NEW YEAR JAS (@triskasbabygirl) January 2, 2018
— j? (@icyyybaby) January 2, 2018
Very disappointed and disgusted, Logan. You have a responsibility as a creator & social media influencer, especially at your size and you still decided to record and post it? And Logan fans, it’s OK to stand against what he did. You know it was wrong.
— J (@iCrazyJa) January 2, 2018
After the protests his first apology received, he tweeted a video apology on Tuesday (Jan 2).
Paul’s team has yet to comment.
Her Campus will continue to update this story as it develops.