By now, everyone that is tuned into the social media world would have heard about Logan Paul, if they did not know him before 2018. The twenty-two-year-old Youtuber was engaged in a scandal at the start of the year that made him even more popular than he was before.
Logan and brother Jake Paul were among the most popular creators on Youtube in 2017, bringing in controversy as they spent a good part of the year feuding. The brothers are favorites among tween and teen viewers and have taken the Internet by storm in the past year. After gaining a following on Vine, Paul successfully amassed viewers on Youtube, bringing in over 16 million subscribers.
In the beginning of this year, Paul found himself in the midst of what can be considered one of the biggest Youtube scandals to date. Paul, who has been recording his life every day since September 2016, recently stopped on January 1st. He was under fire for posting a vlog in the Aokigahara forest in Japan, famously known as the “suicide forest”, since it has a high rate of suicide. In the video, Paul turns the camera on a man hanging from a tree with the face blurred out, which, to be honest, does not do anything in terms of “covering up” the image. Even more aggravating, his friends and he seem to act with the inappropriate response of what can be considered blatant mockery.
This extreme controversy cost Paul some of his contracts with Youtube and received great criticism on social media from celebrities, viewers, and peers alike. He has since apologized, removed the video, and stopped filming daily.
As a female college student who has never watched Logan Paul or his brother before, I barely knew anything about them or their brand before this incident. It was clear that they were big social media influencers, but neither interested me enough to click a video or check their Instagram or Twitter. I can one hundred percent relate to their fans though — I was once a young tween with idols like the Paul brothers who could do no wrong in my eyes. I cannot bash them for their previous and continuous success, or their empire.
However, what I can say is that Paul’s current situation is horrifying for all parties involved. On the one hand, I feel bad for his young viewers, who did not subscribe to his channel to see such disturbing images. There is a deep sorrow felt not only by me but by millions on social media for those who have been affected personally by suicide and mental illness, as this is definitely not what you would want to see from your favorite online creator or any celebrity for that matter. Youtube has taken a hit for it as well, as they did not immediately remove the video and it was on the trending page for more time than it ever warranted. Their eventual response, although seemingly appropriate, was, in my opinion, not timely enough and certainly not a good way to start out the new year.
Unfortunately for Paul, it does not seem like his reputation will ever fully recover. No matter how many times he apologizes or how many ways he tries to right this monumental wrong, he has lost the respect of millions. And in an age where we as a society are becoming increasingly aware and educated on mental health, he will not be able to gain that respect back. But, in an ironic twist, he has never been more popular. It has been a month since his video was posted on Youtube, but it will be a long time before people stop talking about it, and he certainly has not lost many subscribers.
And the truth is, Paul’s reputation of using clickbait to get views and for his playful personality may cause his apology to never seem sincere. This is not something he can just get out of through the durability of his fame. It will be as long as a road for redemption for Paul as it will be for recovery for the people affected by his colossal mistake.