Vlogger Logan Paul apologized for his actions — and said criticism of them was warranted — in his first one-on-one interview since posting a controversial video that apparently showed a suicide victim.
“It’s not like I’m a bad guy. I am a good guy who made a bad decision,” Paul told Michael Strahan on Good Morning America Thursday. “I will think twice in the future about what I post. Probably three times.”
Paul, 22, came under fire last month after posting a video that showed a body hanging in Japan’s “Suicide Forest.” He deleted the video amidst backlash, and YouTube dropped him from its premium advertising network. The YouTube star — who said he made the original video in an attempt to start a conversation about the “harsh realities of suicide” — later apologized for his actions, produced a lengthy video about suicide prevention, and vowed to donate $1 million to suicide prevention resources.
The incident even spurred a parody video game that was briefly available on the Xbox One online store before being removed by Microsoft, according to Eurogamer. The game, called “The Suicide Forest,” instructed players to “explore the Aokigahara forest searching for bodies in order to get millions of views for your channel.”
On Good Morning America, Paul said that kind of backlash has made this the hardest time of his life. “Ironically, I’m being told to commit suicide myself,” he said. “Millions of people, literally, telling me they hate me, to go die in a fire. It’s the most horrible, horrific things.”
But when Strahan asked whether he felt the criticism has been fair, Paul demurred. “That’s the thing,” he said after a brief hesitation. “I do.”
Echoing the tone of his suicide prevention video, Paul also told Strahan he’s using the incident as a learning experience and a second chance.
“I believe it happened for a reason,” Paul said. “I think that reason is so I could take this experience, learn from it, spread the message, the right way, about suicide prevention and suicide prevention awareness.”
FULL INTERVIEW: YouTube star @LoganPaul speaks out, one-on-one with @MichaelStrahan. "I am a good guy who made a bad decision…I will think twice in the future about what I post." Pic.twitter.com/5ju8WPA4HV
— Good Morning America (@GMA) February 1, 2018