YouTube puts Logan Paul projects on hold after vlogger’s dead body post

YouTube has cut business ties with Logan Paul – after the vlogger received strong criticism for posting a video appearing to show the body of a suicide victim.

The 22-year-old said he felt ashamed and did not expect to be forgiven after filming in Japan’s Aokigahara Forest – which is known to be a frequent site of suicides.

The video service, owned by YouTube, has removed Paul from its Preferred Programme where companies can sell adverts on the top 5% of content creators, as well as putting original projects with the US star on hold.

A statement from the company said: “In light of recent events, we have decided to remove Logan Paul’s channels from Google Preferred.

“Additionally, we will not feature Logan in season four of Foursome and his new Originals are on hold.”

The clip uploaded by Paul on December 31, which had millions of views on YouTube before it was taken down, showed the vlogger and his friends discovering the body, which led to strong and continued backlash.

After the video was removed, Paul – who has 15 million YouTube subscribers – posted a written apology to Twitter, saying his intention was to “raise awareness for suicide and suicide prevention”.

On Tuesday, YouTube said it was looking at “further consequences” after the posting of the video.

In a series of tweets, the company said: “It’s taken us a long time to respond, but we’ve been listening to everything you’ve been saying.

“We know that the actions of one creator can affect the entire community, so we’ll have more to share soon on steps we’re taking to ensure a video like this is never circulated again.”