YouTube star apologises for viral suicide video
Actor and YouTube celebrity Logan Paul apologised for posting a video of a
suicide victim in Japan that reportedly was viewed by six million people before
being deleted. Paul, who gained notoriety on social media and has a popular video
blog or "vlog" on YouTube, filmed the video in Aokigahara, which is known as
"the Japanese Suicide Forest" because of its reputation.
According to media reports, the video showing a man who had hanged himself
received six million views before being removed amid a firestorm of outrage on
Twitter.
Adding to the anger were outtakes of the video -- which remained in
circulation on Twitter -- in which Paul is seen laughing and joking about the
incident.
"When my brother found my sister's body, he screamed with horror &
confusion & grief & tried to save her," actress Anna Akana tweeted.
"You do not walk into a suicide forest with a camera and claim mental health
awareness."
Another Twitter user wrote, "i'm truly sickened by this logan paul situation. i lost my brother to suicide... my brother took his own life
by hanging himself... how insensitive and sick can you be to film someone in
that state."
In his apology, Paul said he had posted the video in a mistaken effort to
draw attention to the problem of depression and suicide.
"It's easy to get caught up in the moment without fully weighing the possible
ramifications," he said in the statement.
"I'm often reminded of how big a reach I truly have & with great power
comes great responsibility... for the first time in my life I'm regretful to say
I handled that power incorrectly. It won't happen again."
Google-owned YouTube did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Source: AFP
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