Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide which some readers may find distressing.
Logan Paul abruptly walked off his own podcast after co-host Mike Majlak and guest star Tana Mongeau brought up his infamous Japanese 'suicide forest' video.
In 2017, Paul, then a YouTube vlogger, and his friends visited Japan's Aokigahara forest, at the base of Mount Fuji. The area has a reputation for being a 'haunted' place as well as a location which has become associated with suicide, due to high numbers of people taking their lives there.
Paul filmed himself walking around the forest, coming across an apparent suicide victim, filming shots of the body and their reactions.
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The video caused a huge amount of controversy and backlash towards Paul and his reputation, prompting the 30-year-old to ultimately take it down.
He has since apologised for creating the video, saying he was 'disappointed' and 'ashamed' by his actions that day.
So how did the topic come up on a recent episode of his podcast?
The episode, released on 21 November, saw Paul discussing how one of the world's strongest men had lost a tug of war to a group of kids when co-host Majlak began making a rope gesture to Mongeau.
"Mike is being really silly right now. 'Rope' is a good time for me to make my classic suicide forest joke on Impaulsive, and he [Majlak] tried to lay me up," Mongeau explained, while Paul appeared to look nervously between the pair.
"That wasn't even me, that was your friend right there."
"Dude it was all for the clip," Majlak replied, while Mongeau said that she had considered making the joke before noticing that Paul didn't seem to be in the mood for joking.
"I will say today I went in today and was like 'do I throw it in or is it just, no pun intended, low hanging fruit'," she continued.
It was at this point that Paul pushed his microphone away before putting his head in his hands. Mongeau tried to defend herself before Paul got up and walked off the set as the pair doubled over in laughter.
His reaction divided viewers online, with people questioning whether Paul walked off because he was annoyed or didn't want to be seen laughing at Mongeau's comment on camera.
"I feel like he's laughing to avoid embarrassment fr. Nothing about this was funny to me," wrote one person on X, as a second commented: "All these podcasters are doing fake walkouts now."
A third added: "Every time the WWE goes to Japan, Paul doesn't get to come with. Trust me, he wants this memory to die. The problem is that it never will."
Paul is able to visit Japan but previously skipped attending a WWE tour of the East Asian country.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, please don’t suffer alone. Call Samaritans for free on their anonymous 24-hour phone line on 116 123 or contact Harmless by visiting their website.
Topics: Logan Paul, YouTube, Social Media, Podcast
Brenna Cooper