Nearly two weeks after Logan Paul posted the infamous “suicide forest” video, YouTube announced it will cut business ties with the 22-year-old vlogger/actor.
The decision is expected to have a huge impact on Paul’s pocket, as it means he will not be featured in the upcoming season of Foursome, a comedy that airs on YouTube’s ad-free subscription streaming service Red. Paul’s various channels have also been removed from Google’s preferred ad program, and it is unclear if YouTube will move forward with his upcoming film, The Thinning: New World Order. The project, which was announced in November, is supposed to be a sequel to Paul’s 2016 Red original movie, The Thinning.
“In light of recent events, we have decided to remove Logan Paul’s channels from Google Preferred,” a YouTube spokeswoman said in a statement, according to The Hollywood Reporter. “Additionally, we will not feature Logan in season 4 of Foursome and his new Originals are on hold.”
On Dec. 31, Paul posted a video in which an apparent suicide victim was shown in Japan's Aokigahara Forest. The footage immediately sparked outrage, with many people accusing Paul of exploiting the person's death and mental health issues for video views. Paul claimed he never intended to offend anyone, and insisted he wanted to raise awareness about suicide prevention. Shortly after the backlash, Paul announced he was taking a break from social media to “reflect.” Greg Paul, Logan's father, recently announced his son would return.
On Jan. 9, YouTube posted an open letter in which it addressed the growing concerns about Paul’s future with the company. Critics called for Paul’s channels to be removed from the platform all together, but YouTube chose not to get specific about potential consequences.
“The channel violated our community guidelines, we acted accordingly, and we are looking at further consequences,” the company wrote in a series of tweets. “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.”
