If you have any source to a smart device or laptop, I am certain that you have watched the Youtube where people can upload their videos for anyone in the world to see and react to as much as they’d like. Recently, a the popular site has made some controversy because of a man who had made jokes about another man who had recently taken his own life.

This YouTuber goes by Logan Paul.  Paul’s platform who has more than 15 million people watching and alerted when he uploads a new video. That 15 million following is on Youtube alone. He had influenced so many people by his actions and words, some of which are under the age of 10.  Paul is well known for his “vlogs” and his rivalry with his brother, Jake Paul, who also has a successful Youtube platform.  

Recently, Paul had made a trip to Japan with some of his friends and visited a forest that was rumored to have a lot of suicides occur. Being a Youtuber, Paul, of course, decided to pull his camera out and film their trip to this forest. When he and his friends entered the forest, they had encountered someone who had recently taken their own life within minutes of entering. Instead of being respectful, and turning off his camera, he stood there clearly in shock and made inappropriate jokes and awkwardly laughed at the devastating situation.

Logan uploaded his footage to the 15,000,000+ watchers and almost instantly received more than 6 million views. The video, of course, got a very mixed reaction. Thankfully, Youtube quickly removed the video, seeing its content was extremely inappropriate for the Youtube platform.

A lot of people, including other popular YouTubers and celebrities, made it loud and clear about their disgusted feelings towards Paul’s actions. Some, though, decided to defend Paul, saying things like “everyone makes mistakes” and “He’s human, give him a break.” A while later, Paul had made an apology video that had made 38 million views, resulting in him making around $76,000 on that video alone. But it doesn’t make up for the fact that he had shown that content to all of his followers, some of which make up children who don’t know what suicide is and have not learned anything about the subject.

Suicide is no joke in any way shape or form. It is so extremely serious that so many people feel like they have absolutely no way out of their situation, so they choose to take their lives. And with a public figure that a lot of people looked up to joking about the situation is completely and utterly disgusting. If you ever feel trapped, and need help, or know someone who needs help, please call 1-800-273-8255 right away. You matter.