Logan Paul, thanks for your disrespectful and tone-deaf mockery of suicide, and then thanks for your half-assed apologies. How about actually educating yourself and offering to be there for your fans who are hurting?
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Dear Logan Paul: I Challenge You

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Logan Paul, thanks for your disrespectful and tone-deaf mockery of suicide, and then thanks for your half-assed apologies. How about actually educating yourself and offering to be there for your fans who are hurting?

By Kate Shelby of australianmum.com

Dear Logan Paul,

I have a son who aspires to be confident and outgoing, just like you. Through the filter of YouTube, you easily paint the picture of a guy who gets to spend his life being a loud, obnoxious douchebag—with no repercussions. For any teen preparing to be an adult, your life would seem like a dream. The truth is this life of yours is unattainable by most. We all know only a few make it through, most propelled by rich parents and famous connections.

I expect your “Logangers” would be quite triggered by what I’m about to say; they might call me a snowflake or even worse.

Your first apology was half-assed, self-centered and full of excuses.

I was so pleased to see that you said sorry until I read your tweet.


I have to wonder if you were raised in an emotional desert. You seem to be incapable of a response with genuine empathy and horror for what you did. Your lack of self-awareness is disturbing.

Your second apology came so late.

This leaves me thinking you are sorry, not for what you did, but for what is at stake. So sorry.

Thankfully, I spotted the news before my preteen stumbled on your video. I can’t protect my child from everything, but I can have a conversation to prepare him. Thanks for making that part of raising a young boy, with a deceased father, a little more difficult.

It’s devastating to lose a loved one to mental health issues. Do you know what it takes to explain to a child why they have a single surviving parent?

No, of course you don’t.

All I can say is that it’s a heart-shattering job. It’s a responsibility that nobody should have sitting on their shoulders. One day you might have to deal with it. You will then understand. You will take it seriously. You won’t laugh. It’s no longer a “coping strategy” when it’s someone you loved deeply.

For a little while, your world will turn grey. You will suffer feelings of guilt. You will ask yourself if you could have done more.

So, Logan Paul, Disney Boy and YouTube “Celebrity,” you can understand how people like me feel.

You took on the responsibility of “raising awareness” in a 15-minute video of a dead body hanging from a tree, a few jokes and laughs, and a very stupid fucking hat. Oh, wait…I’m being interrupted… *Cue whiny Logangers*

“But he didn’t plug his merch.” No…no, he didn’t plug his merch. He just wore it. Into Japan’s suicide forest. Where people go to die.

“But he didn’t monetize the video.” Yeah, totally makes it less confusing for those affected by suicide. Is the de-monetize button also a cure for cancer?

“He made a mistake.” Making “a mistake” implies a single error. Logan Paul kickstarted with the mistake of wearing his merch accompanied with a CHILD’s hat into Japan’s Suicide Forest. Then he continued to film a dead man’s body with no regard or respect for the possibility he had a family waiting for him to come home. News is now unfolding that this man may have been a teenage boy.

He continued to laugh and kept up his cringy, overdramatic statements, watched his team laugh, edited it, posted it, and then created the worst apology in YouTube history. I think that’s enough excuses from misguided #logangersforlife.

So, Logan:

You received 6 million views in the short time your video was trending. Your channel spiked enormously. This is around 2 million more than your average piece of content gets in a 3 week period. While you say that video wasn’t monetized, the effect of people watching your other videos and “trying to find” the now-removed version may have made you a tidy sum.

Your money isn’t required for what I have in mind.

I challenge you, Logan Paul. You told viewers, like my child, that you will “be there” for them. Will you?

If the time comes, will he be able to contact you? Will you console him when he discusses why he doesn’t have a father at home? Will you console each and every person that you triggered? Each person you hurt? Every person who thought they were strong enough for your content, but ended up in deep sadness?

Your demographic are so easily influenced, they probably think you were for real, boi.

When you said you’d be there, did you mean in spirit? Or in, like, hashtags? #logangersforlife #logangarmy #itseverydaybro We both know that is some real sugar-coated bullshit at the end of a video that put you trending on every platform.

I don’t want to see your career destroyed. I want you to show your audience there’s room for change. You can be entertaining without being a total dickwad. Stop selling out with your clickbait bullshit at the expense of our kids.

I challenge you, Logan Paul, to actually be there.

For those truly suffering, don’t lean on influencers. Lean on professionals and the people around you who are within reach. Pick up the phone and call someone who will answer. Speak to your local mental health service and connect with a person who trained specifically to help and make a difference. I’m not telling you because I have to, I’m telling you because I have been there and called on these services before.

Need help right now? Call 1-800-273-8255 or visit the following support service sites: National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, Lifeline Australia, BeyondBlue.

This post was originally published on australianmum.com. 

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About the Author

My name is Kate Shelby. I’m an Australian blogger & lover of superheroes in tight pants. Blogging for me is a means to tell my story & allow others to tell theirs in a supportive environment. Read more at australianmum.com and follow Kate on Facebook.