YouTuber turned boxer Logan Paul had a strong friendship with Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson before his ‘suicide forest’ video controversy severed ties.
Paul, one of the most prominent personalities on YouTube, was at the center of a controversy in 2017 which nearly ended his content creation career permanently. He filmed a vlog at the Aokigahara forest in Japan, a place where many people have chosen to end their lives.
While exploring the forest, Paul and a few of his friends came across a dead body in the since-deleted video. He was allegedly seen laughing during the video when he and his friends came across the suicide victim.
This resulted in Paul being heavily criticized by YouTube viewers, Hollywood stars, and even politicians for his behavior. He was removed from various YouTube algorithms but has since been allowed back on the platform.
But one of the biggest fallouts for Paul stemming from the controversial video was his broken friendship with Johnson, who appeared in a few of his videos and is one of the biggest stars in show business.
During a recent appearance on the True Geordie Podcast, Paul revealed how his relationship with Johnson fell apart.
“After Japan happened, obviously I found myself in a hole, rightfully so, that I had never been in before, extremely low mentally, and I got a call from my publicist, who also repped Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, and she’s like, ‘Hey, Dwayne has asked that you remove every picture and video that you’ve done with him,’” Paul said. “I thought we had a healthy relationship, an open line of communication, and I was so sad that my hero wanted nothing to do with me.” (h/t Yahoo Sports)
Paul also went on to reveal that Johnson reached out to him on Instagram just a few months ago in reaction to a video, but he declined to respond.
Paul hasn’t had any similar controversies since and has managed to rebuild his brand to a certain extent. He’s also taken up a career in boxing and has hinted at a possible fight with UFC star Conor McGregor coming to fruition in the future.
Paul is hurt that his 2017 mistake cost him his friendship with Johnson, but he seems hopeful that the two can have a conversation in the future about the incident and move forward.
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