Logan Paul Tells Casey Neistat He Wants to Forget About "Views, Money, Success and Clout"
On Friday, YouTuber Casey Neistat posted an interview with the controversial Logan Paul. Paul, who endured multiple scandals throughout 2017, has been absent from the platform for a few months. In January, the content creator visited Japan's infamous Suicide Forest and posted footage of a dead body. The video went mainstream, and Paul received extreme criticism for his culturally insensitive coverage of his trip to Japan. After, he released a video about suicide awareness, tased a dead rat and then disappeared from the platform.
Paul is currently seeking redemption. He's shooting a documentary about his experiences and also preparing for a boxing match with fellow YouTuber KSI. BBC Radio 1 had an interview planned with the vlogger, but refused to release it after massive online backlash.
Neistat asked some serious questions about what Pauls has done to be a better person, his need for sensationalism and the conflicts inherent to being a brand more than a person.
Here are some of Paul's quotes from the video, though if you want the full story you should watch it for yourself.
On Redemption- "I am not the victim here, by no means, and everything I say, I have to word it like that. What I'm not afraid to do though is be vulnerable about this and open up. I know what I did was disgusting, wrong, an extremely obvious lapse of judgement."
Tasing a Dead Rat - "It was me becoming obsessed with the idea of being a villian. When the whole world hates you, you embrace the idea."
Japan- "The hardest thing about this is being perceived as culturally insensitive. As far as the outfits go, they were on sale at the temple we were at. There's a difference between culturally insensitive and insensitive, since that was my brand ... How many times can you say one thing and try to be a better person?"
Why go into the Suicide Forest? - "We got so caught up in creating that we didn't think about what we were making and whether or not it was right. We were on autopilot essentially, which is dangerous when you're broadcasting to an audience of five to seven million people everyday.
The Suicide Forest Video - "Laughing (was) a defense mechanism for me… It was never my intent to come off as laughing about suicide. I just use comedy when I'm uncomfortable. When there's a lens on me and my actions are being validated by five to seven million people and nobody around me is saying 'hey, that's not okay.'"
Month Off from YouTube - "It was a step to becoming a human being and forget about views, money success and clout. I had never been affected by suicide, I didn't know or lose someone who's died by suicide."
Fight Against KSI - "I'm going to beat his ass. KSI called my brother and I out and I accepted the fight. I'm always up for a challenge, I thought having that event happen in January allowed me to step back from the world of YouTube and stop worrying about the views, money and clout."
On the London Press Conference - "I have no desire to banter back and forth with someone who is the exact person I'm trying not to become and straying away from by degrading women, going after my family in a manner that is intended to harm. The goal for me is to beat him... I'm over the talk."
Paul's Impact on YouTube - "To my fellow creators, I'm sorry I brought shame upon the platform. That's not the person I want to become or live in the body of for the rest of my life. I promise I will do the community well, keep my head up and bring light to YouTube."
