Logan Paul Says Infamous Suicide Reaction Video Was A "Blessing"

Logan Paul has reflected on the backlash to an infamous YouTube video from his past, explaining that it might just have been "the best thing" that could've happened to him.

In 2017, Paul - already a fairly divisive YouTuber at that time - brought down the full fury of the internet on himself when he uploaded a shockingly misjudged video that seemed to be entirely devoid of empathy or reason.

While exploring a forest at the base of Mount Fuji in Japan, Paul discovered the body of someone who had taken their own life. The YouTuber then decided it would be a good idea to make a video of himself reacting to the body. The backlash was swift and considerable. Critics blasted Paul for the insensitive way in which he handled the topic of suicide while also displaying a complete lack of respect for the body he'd found. The video was removed, and he apologised - but it looked for a brief while as if his career was finished.

Now, of course, we know this isn't the case. Paul continues to have a thriving career, and has looked back on his 2017 video as the catalyst for important change in his life.

“I often look back at that time of my life and the person I was unfortunately becoming, and now at 26, I can safely say Japan was the biggest blessing of my life,” he said in a recent video. “I needed a reset. I needed life to check me, and it did.

“I became a person that I ended up loving instead of becoming a jackass. I was headed down a nasty path that was validated by clout, money, fame, wealth, which is all just superficial bullsh*t, and it doesn’t make a person great. At the time, it seemed like the worst thing ever. I don’t think there was a more hated person in the world than me. [But] it ended up forcing me to become someone I loved, and I’m not sure I loved myself back then.”