Disgraced vlogger Logan Paul sat down with Michael Strahan on Good Morning America Thursday to speak out for the first time about the backlash he’s received over posting an arguably flippant video of a suicide victim in the Japanese Aokigahara forest to his YouTube channel. The video was rightfully met with instant backlash, forcing Paul to apologize and remove it — but not before it was seen by millions of his followers. In the aftermath, Google responded by nixing lucrative deals it had going with the YouTube star.
“It’s been tough,” Paul told Strahan. “Because, ironically, I’m being told to commit suicide myself — which, literally, millions of people are telling me they hate me, to go die in a fire, like the most horrible horrific things.”
Yet, Paul thinks coming cross the suicide victim happened for a reason. “I think that reason is so I could take this experience, learn from it, spread the message the right way about suicide prevention awareness,” he reasoned. On whether or not he ever stopped to question whether or not posting the video was a bad idea, Paul answered, “The idea was to shock and show the harsh realities of suicide and get people talking about something that I don’t think people are talking about much.”
Whether or not he likes it, children are watching his content, though Paul thinks it’s a parent’s job to monitor what their kids are watching. “It’s odd, because Michael I am 22 years old, it’s not like I’m making content necessarily for kids,” he said. “Sometimes I cuss, sometimes I make inappropriate jokes, I wanna make jokes [that] kids my age are gonna like,” he continued.
“It’s not like I’m a bad guy, I am a good guy who made a bad decision,” he told Strahan shortly after. Most of us can probably all agree with the last part, at least.