YouTube star apologizes for posting video showing dead body

YouTube star Logan Paul has apologized after he posted a video that showed a dead body.

Paul took the video — which has since been removed from YouTube — in a Japanese forest that is known as a location for people looking to kill themselves.

The video shows a dead body hanging from a tree. Paul faced heavy criticism for the video.

In an apology posted to Twitter on Monday, Paul said he has never faced criticism like this before.

{mosads}”I’ve never made a mistake like this before. I’m surrounded by good people and believe I make good decisions, but I’m still a human being. I can be wrong,” he wrote in the apology.

“I didn’t do it for views. I get views. I did it because I thought I could make a positive ripple on the internet, not cause a monsoon of negativity.”

He wrote that with the video, he had intended to raise awareness for suicide and suicide prevention.

“While I thought ‘if this video saves just ONE life, it’ll be worth it,’ I was misguided by shock and awe, as portrayed in the video. I still am,” he wrote.

He said it is easy to get caught up in the moment without “fully weighing possible ramifications.”

“I’m often reminded of how big of a reach I truly have & with great power comes great responsibility… for the first time in my life I’m regretful to say I handled that power incorrectly. It won’t happen again.”

Dear Internet, pic.twitter.com/42OCDBhiWg

— Logan Paul (@LoganPaul) January 2, 2018

In the video posted this past weekend, Paul talks about the Aokigahara forest.

He comes across a dead body, the face of which is blurred. Paul says in the video: “Yo, are you alive?” according to The New York Times.

At the end of the video, Paul explains that his behavior — smiling and laughing — “is not a portrayal of how I feel about the circumstances.”

Paul on Tuesday also posted a video on his YouTube channel apologizing. He says that the reactions shown in the video were “raw” and “unfiltered.”

“None of us knew how to react or how to feel. I should have never posted the video,” he said, noting there were a lot of things he should have done differently.

He also apologized to the victim and his family.

“For my fans who are defending my actions, please don’t,” he said. “The goal of my content is always to entertain, to push the boundaries, to be all-inclusive.”

He said his intent is never to be heartless, cruel or malicious. 

“I made a huge mistake, I don’t expect to be forgiven,” he said. “I will be better.”

Paul’s YouTube channel has more than 15 million subscribers.