Actor Logan Paul attends "The Thinning" meet and greet during the 2016 New York Comic Con–Day 3 on Oct. 8, 2016, in New York City. (Nicholas Hunt/Getty Images)
YouTube is taking action and cutting some business ties after popular YouTuber Logan Paul, posted a video showing what appeared to be a suicide victim in Japan.
Paul was widely criticized after he posted a video showing him and his friends at the Aokigahara forest at the base of Mount Fuji, a common site for suicides. He can be seen making jokes in the video before it was taken down and according to the BBC it was both “disrespectful” and “disgusting.”
Forbes pointed out that it took nearly two weeks for YouTube to finally punish the vlogger. On Wednesday, Jan. 10, the platform pulled him from the Google Preferred program, an advertising network that gives certain YouTube channels higher advertising rates.
Logan Paul poses in the press room during 102.7 KIIS FM's Jingle Ball 2017 presented by Capital One at The Forum on Dec. 1, 2017, in Inglewood, Calif. (Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for iHeartMedia)
While Paul can still monetize his videos, he won’t be earning the same money per click as he did before.
YouTube also dropped Paul from the fourth season of their YouTube Red series, “Foursome.” YouTube Red is a paid streaming subscription that does not feature any advertisements.
Paul’s role in an upcoming YouTube original film titled “Thinning: New World Order,”a sequel to another of his YouTube Red projects has also been put on hold.
YouTube’s decision to cut off some ties may not be enough for some critics, who demanded Paul be completely banned from their platform. A Change.org petition calling for YouTube to delete Paul’s channel had over 484,689 signatures at the time of publication.
But according to estimates by Forbes, the measures won’t affect much of Paul’s $12.5 million revenue, of which $3.25 million came from YouTube advertisements.
While his income will be reduced, Paul still made nearly $1 million in 2017 from advertisements, according to Forbes. His role in the first “Thinning” film and Red series made him roughly $500,000.
Head of Original Programming at YouTube, Susanne Daniels during the YouTube Red Originals Presentation portion of the 2017 Summer Television Critics Association Press Tour at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on Aug. 4, 2017, in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images)
Paul’s total losses from the disciplinary measures won’t exceed $3 million, leaving him with nearly eight figures a year if everything else stays the same.
On Wednesday, Jan. 3, Paul tweeted that he would be “taking time to reflect” and would not be posting any videos on YouTube. He made the announcement one day after uploaded an apology video on his channel.
Friends Read Free