He found himself at the center of a massive controversy after filming a hanging body in Japan’s Aokigahara, known as a ‘suicide forest.’
And Logan Paul, a YouTube star now facing punitive consequences from the website that made him famous, was seen on a night out Saturday.
The 22-year-old was seen shielding his face with one hand as he stepped out to Tao Los Angeles, and was also spotted in a car with some pals.
Out and about: Logan Paul, a YouTube star now facing punitive consequences from the website that made him famous, was seen on a night out Saturday
Logan had stuck to his typical casual look, flinging a denim jacket over a grey hoodie, which in turn he wore on top of a black tee.
The brother of Jake Paul rolled up the hems of his skintight black pants, which he had matched with a pair of black shoes.
Around New Year’s, Logan was appearing in a vlog in which he and his friends were walking through the Aokigahara and found the apparent dead man.
Filming continued, and at one point, Logan said solemnly to the camera: ‘Suicide is not a joke. Depression and mental illnesses, they’re not – are not a joke.’
Demure: The 22-year-old was seen shielding his face with one hand as he stepped out to Tao Los Angeles
He went on to say: ‘We came here with an intent to focus on the haunted aspect of the forest. This just became very real, and obviously a lot of people are going through a lot of s*** in their lives.’
At one point, off-screen, one of his friends could be heard saying: ‘I don’t feel very good,’ to which another added: ‘Yeah, I don’t feel good either.’
Logan deadpanned: ‘What, you never stand next to a dead guy?’
Soon after, the video showed him unable to restrain a brief bout of what looked like nervous laughter.
He’s got company: The brother of Jake Paul was also spotted in a car with some pals
On New Year’s Day, after the video set off a storm of anger on Twitter, Logan tweeted an apology statement for the video, which was unmonetized.
‘I intended to raise awareness for 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,’ read the statement in part. ‘I still am.’
During an apology video posted January 2, Logan said solemnly that ‘I’ve made a severe and continuous lapse in my judgement and I don’t expect to be forgiven.’
In a statement posted to Twitter on Tuesday, YouTube had written: ‘Suicide is not a joke, nor should it ever be a driving force for views. As Anna Akana put it perfectly: “That body was a person someone loved. You do not walk into a suicide forest with a camera and claim mental health awareness.”‘
Layering up: Logan had stuck to his typical casual look, flinging a denim jacket over a grey hoodie, which in turn he wore on top of a black tee
The site also noted: ‘We expect more of the creators who build their community on @YouTube, as we’re sure you do too. The channel violated our community guidelines, we acted accordingly, and we are looking at further consequences.’
As the week wore on, YouTube revealed that it ‘decided to remove Logan Paul’s channels from Google Preferred,’ CNN reported.
His forthcoming YouTube film The Thinning: New World Order is now ‘on hold’ and he has been fired from the site’s series Foursome.
As seen in his apology video: He found himself at the center of a massive controversy after filming a hanging body in Japan’s Aokigahara, known as a ‘suicide forest’