Logan Paul posted a solemn video apology online Tuesday after intense criticism on social media over an earlier mea culpa about a YouTube post showing what appears to be a body hanging from a tree in a Japanese forest known for suicides.
"I should have never posted the video," said the social media star, his voice thick with emotion. "There are 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."
Paul's earlier written apology issued on Monday had done little to quell the outrage over the controversial YouTube video.
Who is Logan Paul?
"I want to apologize to the internet," he said in the new video. "I want to apologize to anyone who has seen the video. I want to apologize to anyone who has been affected or touched by mental illness or depression or suicide. But, most importantly, l want to apologize to the victim and his family."
Paul asked fans to not defend his actions, and said his goal was to entertain and "push the boundaries" but not to be "heartless, cruel or malicious."
"I made a huge mistake," he said. "I don't expect to be forgiven. I'm just here to apologize. I'm ashamed of myself. I'm disappointed in myself and I promise to be better. I will be better."
The video
Paul removed the original video from YouTube, but it remains available online elsewhere. In it, Paul and his group are visiting Aokigahara forest, which is known throughout Japan as "suicide forest." Signs posted there offer a hotline number and urge suicidal visitors to seek help.
Desperate Japanese head to 'suicide forest'
They come upon a body hanging in the forest and call out to him. Paul asks someone to call the police twice.
After he sees the body, Paul says: "This is a first for me. This literally probably just happened."
The person's face is blurred in the video.
Someone off camera says: "I don't feel good."
Paul replies: "What, you never stand next to a dead guy?"
The person says, "No."
Paul bursts into laughter. "It was gonna be a joke. This was all a joke. Why did it become so real?" he asks.
"Depression and mental illnesses is not a joke," he says. "We came here with the intent to focus on the haunted aspect of the forest. This just became very real."
Paul and his friends gather at the parking lot. And he says to the camera that "the smiling and laughing ... is not a portrayal of how I feel about the circumstances. Everyone copes with s*** differently. ... I cope with things with humor."
He said that he was not monetizing the video for "obvious reasons" and gave a graphic video warning.
YouTube weighs in
The reaction to Paul's new apology was mixed.
"I saw that he is very sorry for his actions ... which he should be," one person wrote on Twitter. "I dont think that he should delete his channel."
But another post said: "I get your sorry and stuff but I still find it disrespectful and disturbing for younger viewers!"