Logan Paul’s Ups and Downs Over the Years: Suicide Forest Vlog, Fraud Allegations and More
Influencer Logan Paul has had his fair share of controversies on his way to becoming a professional boxer.
Paul began gaining traction for his six-second videos on the social media app Vine in 2013. In 2015, he began posting on YouTube and quickly had one of the most-subscribed YouTube channels with 23.6 million subscribers as of August 2023.
During the height of his YouTube popularity, Paul came under fire in December 2017 when he uploaded a vlog to his channel with the title “We found a dead body in the Japanese Suicide Forest,” featuring an apparent suicide victim. Following backlash, Paul deleted the video and issued a written apology.
“I should have never posted the video,” he wrote in January 2018. “I should have put the cameras down and stopped recording what we were going through. There’s a lot of things I should have done differently but I didn’t. And for that, from the bottom of my heart, I am sorry.”
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Keep scrolling to see more of Paul’s ups and downs throughout the years:
January 2018
“I’ve made a severe and continuous lapse in my judgment and I don’t expect to be forgiven, I’m simply here to apologize,” he said amid the backlash of his video from Aokigahara in Japan. “So what we came across that day in the woods was obviously unplanned and the reactions you saw on the tape were raw, they were unfiltered. None of us knew how to react or how to feel. … I’m disappointed in myself and I promise to be better.”
February 2018
Paul sparked controversy once again after uploading a vlog of him tasering two dead rats and taking a live fish out of his koi pond to pretend to perform CPR. Following the video, YouTube suspended all advertising on Paul’s channels.
“After careful consideration, we have decided to temporarily suspend ads on Logan Paul’s YouTube channels,” YouTube said in a statement to Us Weekly at the time. “This is not a decision we made lightly; however, we believe he has exhibited a pattern of behavior in his videos that makes his channel not only unsuitable for advertisers, but also potentially damaging to the broader creator community.”
February 2018
After having success on YouTube, Logan ventured into other avenues when he and his brother, Jake Paul, competed against YouTuber KSI and Deji in two white-collar boxing matches. The fight ended in a majority draw, but sparked Logan’s entry into the boxing world.
January 2019
Paul and his “Impaulsive” podcast cohost Mike Majlak planned to test out a new New Year’s resolution each month, with January being “Sober Vegan January” and February being “Fatal February.” When asked what he’s planning for March, Paul said, “We’re gonna attempt to go gay for just one month.”
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Majlak clarified the plans, saying, “For one month, and then swing … and then go back.”
The YouTube creator responded to the backlash, tweeting: “Very poor choice of words … my fault.”
June 2022
After a guest appearance at WrestleMania in April 2022, Paul announced that he signed with the WWE.
"I think it’s safe to say @LoganPaul shocked the world with his abilities as a guest at #WrestleMania … just imagine what he’ll do as a @WWE Superstar. Congratulations and welcome!” Triple H., a former WWE superstar and the VP of talent strategy and development at WWE, tweeted at the time.
January 2023
A class action lawsuit was filed against Paul, accusing the creator of fraud and negligent business practices after his game CryptoZoo was never released.
“[Paul and others behind with CryptoZoo] made the business decision to forego an expensive and time-consuming process to create a functional CryptoZoo game or support it, and instead deliberately undertook a scheme to defraud Plaintiff and other consumers,” the lawsuit read.
Paul and his team denied all wrongdoings and instead blamed the developers. He also claimed to Rolling Stone that “all deserving parties will be reimbursed.”
April 2023
Paul — who has won a total of three out of seven matches — resigned with WWE on a multiyear deal. “I feel incredibly blessed to have found something that I’m good at, at 28 years old,” he said in a statement at the time. “And the fact that the organization believes I’m good enough to continue hopefully building this WWE legacy is mind-blowing.”
July 2023
After one year of dating, Paul and his girlfriend, Nina Agdal, announced their engagement. “Engaged to my best friend ??,” the YouTube star captioned an Instagram photo of the moment he got down on one knee.
That same month Logan’s brother, Jake, released his Netflix documentary Untold: Jake the Problem Child, which showcases his life from a YouTube star to boxer. In the film, Jake and Logan open up about their brotherhood and addressed numerous personal controversies.
November 2023
Paul won his first major belt in the WWE, becoming the United States Champion after defeating Hall of Fame wrestler Rey Mysterio at the Crown Jewel event.
