One Action Says It All: The Controversy of Logan Paul

One+Action+Says+It+All%3A+The+Controversy+of+Logan+Paul

YouTuber Logan Paul has made headlines, but not through anything positive. In visiting Japan’s Aokigahara Forest, Paul discovered, and most notably laughed at, a dead body of a man who had committed suicide, with Paul jokingly saying in the now deleted video, “Bro, did we just find a dead person in the suicide forest?” Over six million people had viewed the video before Paul removed it, and the criticism and backlash he received continues.

Paul had issued an apology saying, “I’ve made a severe and continuous lapse in my judgment, and I don’t expect to be forgiven,“I’m simply here to apologize.”

However Paul also noted how he had never made a mistake like this before, had never experienced criticism like this, and that he usually makes good decisions but that he’s a human being and can be wrong. Many viewers saw this apology as being self-centered and insincere. Paul also claimed he had posted the video as means to bring awareness to suicide prevention, however the internet would strongly disagree.

Actor Aaron Paul tweeted to Paul, “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”

In asking Anna Jaretsky about her thoughts on the Logan Paul video she states, “I just thought it was just completely inappropriate for him to do. Just how can you not think that is wrong. I wasn’t surprised but at the same time I was shocked by his actions. His ‘apology’ is insincere and it all seemed to be a ploy for all attention on him yet again. This also wasn’t the only thing wrong with his trip to Japan, he was completely disrespectful to their culture in the previous videos.”

As it turns out, this would not be the first time Paul has created trouble in Japan and has made the country unhappy with him by insulting their cultural norms. On December 30th, just days prior, Paul posted a video titled “We Fought In The Middle Of Tokyo!” in which Paul goes around Tokyo acting as though it was his own personal playground.

Paul even said in the video “I swear , Tokyo is just a giant playground. Maybe it’s not. Maybe I should stop. Probably not.”

Paul sticks the camera in people’s faces and in their cars while walking in the middle of the street, directly disobeying strict privacy laws about filming and photography. A local man said to Paul in the clip “Amari choushi ni noruna” translated to  “Don’t get too cocky” or “Don’t push your luck.”

Paul could have adhered to these warnings, but he did not, and he must now face the consequences of his thoughtless and offensive actions.

 

 

 

Photo courtesy of Quizpedia.com