YouTube January 03, 2018

YouTube star apologizes after being slammed for sharing suicide video

Logan Paul's fans defend YouTube video of Japanese suicide; his apology tops trending videos

Logan Paul angered Internet users over the weekend after he posted a YouTube video that featured him making light of an apparent suicide victim. But that criticism has only served to fan the devotion of his 15 million fans, who have made him one of YouTube's best-paid self-made stars.

Since the original video of Paul's trip to a Japanese forest known for suicides was pulled by Paul from Google-owned YouTube on Sunday, the fan group, also known as the "Logang," has taken to the star's Twitter, Instagram and YouTube channels to defend Paul or offer support.

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"Im not taking sides. The suicide thing is absolutely nothing to joke about, but Logan shouldn't be hated on," wrote Twitter user @imedenperry early Tuesday morning. "He said humor is how he copes with his emotions. It wasn't right to laugh at the situation. But making him feel horrible about himself is equally not right. #Logang4life"

Can everyone please stop hating on @LoganPaul," wrote user @l0gang4lyfe late Monday night. "He’s a good kid with good intentions, who made an honest mistake #logang4life"

Others responded directly to the star's posted Twitter apology note to let him know they were still with him. A number of fans incorporated the fan base's hashtag, #LOGANG4life, which Paul also used to close his original apology note, into their posts.

"Omg, your a human, you make mistakes," replied Twitter user @276_eli. "And if people can't understand that than they are not true fansi love you so much logan, #LOGANG4life"

Similar to other Internet celebrities, Paul's fanbase is young and devoted. First rising to fame on the now-shuttered social media platform Vine, the YouTuber has over 15 million subscribers on YouTube, over 16 million followers on Instagram and over 3.9 million followers on Twitter.

Paul has been featured on Jimmy Kimmel's late-night talk show, filmed promotions for the Baywatch movie with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and has worked with brands such as Dunkin Donuts and Verizon to post ads for their products on his social pages.

Paul's Japanese forest video was viewed more the 6 million times in the first 24 hours it was published, according to New York magazine, which saw the original video before it was taken down. (Other Internet users have since re-uploaded the removed video back onto the platform).

In a second apology posted Tuesday afternoon to his YouTube and Twitter accounts, Paul implored his followers to stop defending him.

"I should have never posted the video," Paul says. "I should have put the cameras down and stopped recording what we were going through... From the bottom of my heart, I am sorry." Paul goes on to apologize to "the Internet," those who have seen the video, were impacted by mental illness, depression or suicide as well as the victim's family.

"For my fans who are defending my actions, please don't," Paul continues. "They do not deserve to be defended."