Almost two weeks after YouTube star Logan Paul posted footage of a suicide victim in the forests near Mount Fuji in Japan, the streaming platform has now suspended the 22-year-old from their services.
According to Access Hollywood, the video service announced it would pull Paul’s channel from its ad-supported Google Preferred platform and have now put two of his other projects on hold.
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On Saturday, YouTube chief business officer Robert Kyncl said there’s no set time for when the Paul’s future will be addressed again, but might work with him again in the future.
“Everything is evolving so fast,” Kyncl said. “The best thing we can do is put all projects on hold indefinitely, and there’s no date or plan for him in the future.”
While Paul apologized for posting videos of him in the forests of Japan near what seemed to be a body hanging from a tree, the location is one well-known in the country as a frequent site for suicides. With this knowledge, some on social media believe his visit was an “intentional” one.
YouTube states that the images in Paul’s videos violated its policies, despite pulling the video from his channel on his own.
The suspension comes on the heels of social media’s outcry that YouTube was prolonging their decision to take action against Paul, with critics frustrated by the lack of response. The network took to Twitter to express the delay in decision:
Like many others, we were upset by the video that was shared last week.
— YouTube (@YouTube) January 9, 2018
Suicide is not a joke, nor should it ever be a driving force for views. As Anna Akana put it perfectly: “That body was a person someone loved. You do not walk into a suicide forest with a camera and claim mental health awareness.”
— YouTube (@YouTube) January 9, 2018
We expect more of the creators who build their community on @YouTube, as we’re sure you do too. The channel violated our community guidelines, we acted accordingly, and we are looking at further consequences.
— YouTube (@YouTube) January 9, 2018
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.
— YouTube (@YouTube) January 9, 2018
By removing Paul’s work from the Google Preferred platform, this move will cut off a significant route to advertising revenue through YouTube. Additionally, the network reports they will not feature Paul in the fourth season of its series “Foursome” and would put other work of his on hold.
Paul is one of YouTube’s biggest stars, with Forbes magazine estimating he earned $12.5 million last year alone.
