In a sombre apology posted to Twitter, Logan Paul has addressed the backlash associated with a video he posted online on December 31, which showed a dead body hanging in a forest in Japan.
The popular YouTuber uploaded the clip, titled We found a dead body in the Japanese Suicide Forest…, to his 15 million subscribers, deleting it 24 hours later amid uproar.
The backlash was swift and fierce, with many calling for the star to be banned from the video sharing site permanently.
Now the 21-year-old vlogger has posted a grovelling apology to his Twitter account, explaining his actions and that he ‘doesn’t expect to be forgiven’.
He began: ‘I made a severe and continuous lapse of my judgement and I don’t expect to be forgiven. I’m just here to apologise. What we came across that day in the woods was obviously unplanned. The reactions that you saw on tape were raw, they were unfiltered.
‘None of us knew how to react or how to feel. I should have never posted the video. I should have put the cameras down and stopped recording what we were going through.
‘There’s a lot of things I should’ve done differently but I didn’t and for that. From the bottom of my heart I’m sorry.
‘I want to apologise to the internet, I want to apologise to the people who have seen the video and to anyone who has been affected or touched by mental illness or depression or suicide but most importantly i want to apologise to the victim and the family.
‘To my fans who are defending my actions, please don’t, they do not deserve to be defended, the goal with my content is to always entertain, to push the boundaries, to be all inclusive, in the world i live in, i share most everything i do, the intent is to never be heartless, cruel or heartless or malicious, like I said I made a huge mistake, I don’t expect to be forgiven. I’m just here to apologise.
‘I’m ashamed of myself. I’m disappointed in myself and i promise to be better. I will be better. Thank you.’
Overnight Logan broke his silence for the first time after deleting the video, in a lengthy Twitter post that seemed to fall on deaf ears as people struggled to find the sincerity.
He wrote: ‘Where do I begin… ‘Let’s start with this – 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 can 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. I still am.’
More: Youtube
Logan continued: ‘I do this shit every day. I 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 fully weighing up the ramifications.
‘I’m often reminded of how big a reach I truly have and which 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. ‘I love everyone. I believe in people. I’m out here. Peace. #Logang4Life.’
Many weighed into the scandal, with Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul telling him to ‘rot in hell’ while Chrissy Teigen addressed the backlash as an ‘Ender’s campaign’.
MORE: Why wasn’t Logan Paul’s video of man who killed himself removed from YouTube straight away?
MORE: Child whose dad killed himself left ‘traumatised’ by Logan Paul video
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