Jake Paul on Suicide Video: ‘What Logan Did Was Very Wrong’

Jake Paul has finally spoken out about brother Logan Paul’s controversial “suicide forest” video.

Jake shared a 13-minute vlog on Monday titled “YouTube, Let’s Talk About Brother Logal Paul,” but for more than 10 minutes of the video, the 21-year-old and his friends spent time laughing and pranking each other. At the 11-minute mark, he sat down to discus the issue.

“I wanted to let the situation have some time to breathe,” Jake said to his 13.3 million subscribers. “I know Logan was going through a lot and everyone was talking about it. It didn’t feel right to comment on it right away. But as his brother and as someone who knows Logan the best, I do feel it’s necessary to say something about it.”

Logan was shamed by fans and was cut from his money-making relationship with YouTube after he posted a video on December 31 that showed a man hanging from a tree in Japan’s Aokigahara forest.

“I think what Logan did was very, very, very, very wrong, and he made a huge mistake. And not only is he paying for it, but he is learning from it. I think that in no way, shape, or form is suicide a joke or should be made fun of in any, shape, or form,” Jake said to the camera. “I don’t think it’s right what he did at all.”

“He did not mean to offend anyone,” he added of his 22-year-old brother. “He didn’t handle the situation the right way but I know, in the back of his head, he didn’t mean to offend or hurt anybody or create such a big frustration. And he is honestly, truly, truly sorry.”

Logan apologized on both Twitter and YouTube following the uproar over his now-deleted video post.

“I have made a severe and continuous lapse in my judgment and I don’t expect to be forgiven,” he said in a video on January 2.

In light of the original video, YouTube removed Logan’s channels from the Google Preferred platform, which will cut off a route to significant advertising revenue through the platform. Additionally, the streaming platform reports it will not feature Paul in the fourth season of its series Foursome and will put other work of his on hold.

Logan is one of YouTube’s biggest stars with a cross-channel following of more than 21 million. His estimated net worth prior to the scandal was $15 million, earned from content on YouTube, social media sponsorships and entertainment appearances.