Logan Paul, one of YouTube’s biggest stars, recently visited Aokigahara, which is known as the “suicide forest.” There, he appears to have encountered a dead body that he filmed and uploaded.
Paul’s vlog featured footage of the body with the face blurred out.
“This is not clickbait. This is the most real vlog I’ve ever posted to this channel,” Paul says in the clip’s intro (via Select All). “I think this definitely marks a moment in YouTube history because I’m pretty sure this has never hopefully happened to anyone on YouTube ever. Now with that said: buckle the fuck up, because you’re never gonna see a video like this again!”
Paul did point out the seriousness of suicide, saying, “Suicide is not a joke. Depression and mental illness are not a joke. We came here with an intent to focus on the ‘haunted’ aspect of the forest. This obviously just became very real, and obviously a lotta people are going through a lotta shit in their lives.”
However, besides filming the actual body, Paul and members of his team certainly seemed to make light of the situation (here is an edited recap of their reactions), joking around. In the clip, for example, the BBC reports that one of group member says off camera he “doesn’t feel good.” To which Paul replies, “What, you never stand next to a dead guy?” He laughs after that.
Backlash to the clip has been swift and harsh, and Paul has since apologized.
But before he did, he found time to plug his upcoming Pokémon Go vlog.
Update January 2 - 3:50pm: Paul has issued another apology.
Note: If you are experiencing suicidal thoughts or suffering from depression, you are not alone. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline can help.
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