Casey Neistat just released a lengthy, unedited interview with Logan Paul, the controversial YouTuber whose video from the Japanese “suicide forest” in January earned worldwide scorn. Months later, Logan Paul wants to tell people about the circumstances that made it happen. He’s making a documentary about his ascent to fame, and the way having millions of supportive fans can blind you. So when Paul asked Casey Neistat to appear in that forthcoming documentary, Neistat agreed on the condition that Paul sit down for an interview himself. The video is unmonetized and uncut, Neistat tells The Verge, because he wanted it to be real. “I personally felt the impact of Logan’s actions as a creator,” Neistat said in a phone call last night. “I personally felt some degree of shame — I was embarrassed to say I was a YouTuber.” “I forgot to be a human being... and instead decided to be a content creator.” “My intention was to see if he is sincere or if the whole thing is a charade for PR, and after watching this whole thing over and over, I’m still not sure,” Neistat says in the video. “To be totally honest, I am still not sure releasing it is the right thing.” Asked last night if he thinks Paul has grown out of this self-destructive cycle, all Neistat would say was “I believe now that he understands the consequences of his actions.” The entire interview — totally uncut and complete with interruptions from passing emergency sirens, audio issues, and asides to the camera operators — is worth watching. Referring to himself as “the most hated man in the world,” Paul says he’s making a “redemption story.” “Is it possible for Logan Paul to make a comeback or am I going to be a failed YouTuber?” asks Paul. “I got so caught up with my actions of being validated by millions of people I forgot to be a human being in that situation and instead decided to be a content creator.” “That’s why I’m a brand — that’s who Logan Paul is.” But he’s still Logan Paul, the brash YouTuber who also explains the conflict between what he says he wants and what he’s actually doing by saying “That’s why I’m a brand — that’s who Logan Paul is. I bridge the gap between being a motivational speaker for kids, and saying, yeah, I am a fucking kid. I’m 23 years old and if I want to go jump out of a plane naked, I’m going to go fucking do it. But at the same time you can work hard and achieve your goals.” It’s also clear Paul still hasn’t fully come to grips with the whole of the controversy surrounding him. For one, the documentary seems premature — and Neistat says as much. But Neistat also pushes Paul on the other parts of his trip to Japan, reminding him that he dressed up as Pikachu and jumped on the hoods of cars. Paul’s answer? “There’s a difference between being culturally insensitive — being insensitive towards a culture — and being insensitive,” Paul says, further claiming that his laughing at the dead body in the forest was really a “defense mechanism.” “To my fellow creators, wholeheartedly, I am sorry I brought shame upon the platform,” he says. “I promise I will do the community well and keep on trucking and bring light to YouTube.” “I promise I will do the community well and bring light to YouTube.” Part of the disconnect comes from the reality of Paul’s last six months. Since the Japan videos, the older Paul brother successfully pivoted to another stunt: he’s spent months hyping up what he’s calling the biggest event in the history of YouTube. The plan, which will unfold on August 25th, is to box against YouTuber KSI, who has 19 million subscribers. To promote it, the pair have been doing a series of press conferences where they both talk shit to rile up their fans. The first event, which happened in June 2018, was not great. Even so, it was better than the event that happened in July in the UK. That was brutal: Paul barely got any words in, and instead was largely subjected to cruel taunts that visibly made him tear up. Things also reportedly got out of hand, with some spectators throwing dangerous objects at one another. Greg Paul, Logan’s father, even got in a scuffle with a fan who punched him in the head. He is reportedly now suing Logan’s rivals for allegedly inciting the attack. In the interview with Neistat, Paul frames the fight as a part of his redemption, to prove that you can still come back from something even if you’re literally getting punched in the face. But Paul’s last couple of weeks have seen him start to unravel. In the last press conference, for example, he storms off before the festivities are over, visibly upset at KSI’s taunts. “It’s the new Logan Paul” “It’s the new Logan Paul,” he says to Neistat. “I have no interest in bantering back and forth with someone who is the exact person that I am trying not to become, and stay away from, by degrading women, by going after my family, in a manner that is intended to harm.” Neistat, for his part, seems unsure of whether or not giving Paul this kind of platform only ends up feeding into the machine to rehabilitate Paul’s image. “You can’t self determine redemption,” Neistat told us last night. “Redemption can only be determined by others — it’s up to the community and others to decide whether he gets a second chance. I don’t think that’s a decision he gets to make. There are myriad ways the YouTube community supports creators — it’s what I love about it. For Logan to be back into that, he has to demonstrate that he can have a positive, meaningful impact.” “I hope he finds a path to redemption and finds a way to be the light he wants to be.”<doc-sep>YouTube provocateur Logan Paul sat down with Casey Neistat for a 30-minute interview to talk about a myriad of topics, including his upcoming documentary, his headline-making behavior, and his planned boxing match with YouTuber KSI. The sit-down and the documentary are both part of Paul’s redemption tour in the aftermath of a Dec. 31, 2017 incident in which he posted a video of him encountering the body of a man who recently committed suicide in Japan’s Aokighara Forest (colloquially known as the “Suicide Forest”). Paul said “the doc is not a documentary about how hard my life has been this year,” following the incident. Instead, he wants to focus on the story of his mindset at the time of the incident, and how it happened in the first place. “It’s about a story of a young man from Ohio, a seemingly regular kid, falling into the social-media machine over the past four years,” Paul told Neistat. “Becoming the most hated man in the snap of a finger. The question that the doc answers is how do you recover from that? Can you recover from that?” Neistat pushed back on Paul, asking whether or not this was a ploy designed to earn Paul sympathy from an audience that, as he said in the video, may “want me to crawl into a hole and die forever.” “I don’t think people can, should or will sympathize with me,” Paul said. “[The documentary] is an unbiased, objective story that captures how something like that can happen. What went wrong in my life that I thought that was a good idea. I’m the one who has to look in the mirror and look at the decision, and say, ‘that was my decision.’ Up until that part of my life, it was really only wins and successes.” Part of the documentary will focus on Paul’s mindset at the time, which is something that other YouTubers have commented on, and even sympathized with — though Paul told Neistat he didn’t want to try and victimize himself over the situation. Instead, he wanted to showcase what his day-to-day life was like leading up to him and his friends walking into the forest. Whether or not that’s true will be depending on the final product. “Everyday we were creating a new piece of content meant to bend the limit and push it right over the edge,” Paul said. “We got so caught up in creating that we didn’t stop to think about what were were making and whether it was right. We were on autopilot, which is extremely dangerous when you’re broadcasting to an audience of five to seven million people every day. There was no thinking. It was ‘create content, create content, create content.’ There was no, ‘Take a step back and breathe.’” There are a few more questions about Paul’s time in Japan, including whether or not he’s learned from his cultural insensitivity. It’s one of the few areas Paul pushes back on, instead of just admitting he’s wrong and wanting to move past the whole ordeal. Neistat asked Paul about how he’s tried to change since then. “This is the hardest thing about all of this — it being perceived as culturally insensitive,” Paul said. “The [costumes worn in the video] were on sale at a store beside the temple we were at. Do we not buy the outfits? They were on sale there. Theres’ a difference between culturally insensitive and insensitive. My brand at the time was all around insensitive. That is no longer the person I’m trying to become and no longer representative of the blogs.” Paul asked why his antics were culturally insensitive, and Neistat was happy to explain. It’s one of the few areas in the 30 minutes interview that Paul got super worked up over — and it’s one of the many reminders throughout the interview that Paul still doesn’t get exactly why so many people were upset with him in January. The video featuring him in the forest was more obvious in its erroneous behavior; his antics around Japan weren’t. When Paul disappeared from YouTube for three weeks following the incident, he returned with a promise to be a better man and use his channel for good. That started with a mini-documentary about suicide awareness and prevention, but it quickly de-escalated into similar antics we’ve seen before. Paul tased a dead rat in one video, leading to more punishments from YouTube and even more criticism. It’s hard to take Paul seriously at his word when his actions don’t support them. “This [documentary] is looking ahead, yes, because I said those things and then I taped a dead rat,” Paul said. “It’s hard for me cause how many times can you say one thing and then try to be a better person? I’m vegan now. I’ve got a girlfriend who’s extremely wise who helps me grow and become the person I want to become. My content is focused more on positivity.” At a press conference for his upcoming fight with KSI, Paul showed some signs of personal growth. KSI launched into a juvenile attack on Paul, his family and his new girlfriend, actress Chloe Bennet. Paul sat mostly silent, before getting up and walking out. Multiple videos and articles analyzing the conference have been published, but Neistat wanted to know what was going through Paul’s head at the time. “It’s the new Logan Paul,” Paul said. “I have no interest in bantering back and forth with someone who is the exact person I’m not trying to become by degrading women, by going after my family in a manner that is intended to harm. My goal here is to beat him, not talk about how I’m going to beat him or talk about his family or say what I’m going do to his girlfriend; the goal is to win a fight. I was over it as soon as I walked into the press conference.” Paul hopes his documentary will return things to the way they were.<doc-sep>It seems Logan Paul still isn't ready to own up to all of his mistakes. It's been about seven months since the YouTuber posted a controversial video containing footage of an apparent victim of suicide found in Japan's Aokigahara forest, but fellow YouTube star Casey Neistat still had a lot of questions. Casey hosted Paul over for a long, extremely blunt interview, and when faced with some serious, tough questions, Paul proved that after all this time he still really doesn't get it. SEE ALSO: BBC pulls Logan Paul interview following Twitter backlash In the interview, Neistat chatted with Paul about the documentary, along with his thought process leading up to posting the video, what he's learned since, and more. Neistat didn't hold back, and the questions were clearly challenging to Paul at times. Nearly all of the interviews Paul has done since the controversy have been extremely soft.Β At around 19 minutes, Neistat asks Paul about a supercut of his trip to Japan, for which he criticized for and said to have severely disrespected Japanese culture. Paul gets extremely defensive, arguing with all his might that his actions were not culturally insensitive, but rather just plain insensitive. "Thereβs a difference between being culturally insensitive β being insensitive towards a culture β and being insensitive," Paul said, later explaining that he laughed during the suicide video as "a defense mechanism." MMMMMMmmkay, dude. After watching Paul's responses in the interview, many people had a hard time feeling like the YouTuber had grown as a person or learned much from his fall from the top. Logan Paul is such a fucking clown. I just watched the interview conducted by Casey and man.. I refuse to accept the excuse of 'pressures of daily vlogging' for the inhumane act he commited. His upcoming documentary sounds awful and as though it'll be riddled with self pity π β Martyn Littlewood (@InTheLittleWood) July 27, 2018 So I watched the full 35 minute interview Casey Neistat did with Logan Paul and can now say I am 100% certain he is the biggest piece of trash on the planet. Fake as hell, talks about his "clout" constantly, and clearly thinks HE is the victim from the forest video. Pure trash! β DreamcastGuy (@DreamcastGuy) July 27, 2018 So @CaseyNeistat interviewed Logan Paul. Casey did well, Logan didn't seem sincere. This is Logan trying a PR spin to mask his crap. So insincere. He was all over the place in his answers and threads. β Jerry Lane (@ImJerryLane) July 27, 2018 Currently watching Casey Neistat's interview with Logan Paul. The fact that Logan still doesn't understand how it's culturally insensitive to go around Japan wearing a pikachu outfit, throwing poke balls at the locals, is so troubling. This kid will never get it β Lindsay (@Panama592) July 27, 2018 Probably one of the toughest things for Logan Paul to do in his career on YouTube. Casey did a great job. Nonetheless, it's easy to see through all of Logans bullshit. He claims that his actions in Japan no longer represent his brand, yet those videos are still up on his channel. https://t.co/LnKzlFq8HJ β Jack Sherwood (@elmannamedjack) July 27, 2018 its genuinely incredible at how fucking awful logan paul is even after everything like everything he does feels fake and uninformed. anyways this casey neistat interview with him was a great exposure of how awful he truly is when u ask the hard questions. like genuinely. β shannon (@niallthorans) July 27, 2018 Paul's video, posted in January, was met with immediate backlash from fans, members of the YouTube community, and everyday people who were unaware of the YouTube star. Now he's creating a documentary about his rise to YouTube fame and instant career derailment in attempt to make a comeback. Paul told Neistat he has yet to decide whether or not his documentary will be monetized, but said if it is the money will go towards suicide prevention organizations. On Thursday, BBC Radio 1 also announced it would be pulling an interview with Paul that was scheduled to air later that evening, so it seems Paul still has a ways to go on his comeback tour. The YouTuber is set to have a boxing match with KSI in Manchester, England on August 25. So, uh, we'll see how that goes. If you want to talk to someone or are experiencing suicidal thoughts, text the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 or call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. For international resources, this list is a good place to start.<doc-sep>It’s been nearly eight months since Logan Paul generated one of the biggest controversies in YouTube history by using the dead body of an apparent suicide victim as a prop for one of his vlogs. While Paul has long since returned to YouTube and has pledged to become a better person and a stronger advocate for suicide prevention, some members of the online video community have their doubts about how sincere Paul’s redemption arc is. One of those skeptical people is fellow YouTube star Casey Neistat, who praised YouTube’s decision to punish Paul back in January. Neistat, like many other creators, is concerned about how the regrettable actions of stars like Paul affect the YouTube community as a whole, and recently, he got a chance to challenge Paul on that topic — and many others. After agreeing to be be interviewed for Paul’s upcoming documentary about the fallout from his suicide video scandal, Neistat sat down for a 30-minute conversation with the embattled vlogger, which at times took on a testy tone. In talking to Neistat, Paul attempted to show the same sort of contrition he displayed in previous interviews regarding his suicide video scandal. He conceded that “I don’t think people should, can, or will sympathize with me” and termed his documentary an “attempted redemption story” in which he will show the world how he has chanced since the January 2018 incident. But answers like those weren’t quite good enough for Neistat. When Paul said that he has a desire to uphold a personal brand that celebrates, in his own words, “living life on the edge,” Neistat hit back. He questioned whether Paul can truly add a more positive message to his content, noting that “the general attitude you characterize of living on the edge I think really clouds a lot of that much more meaningful ambition of wanting to inspire.” ﻿ It seems as if Neistat wanted to convey to Paul that no matter what he says about the incident or how it has changed him, what remains more important are the things he says in his videos or puts on his social media channels. “The road to hell is paved with intent,” Neistat said after Paul defended the laughter in his initial “suicide forest” video as a “defense mechanism.” “All that really matters is what transpired, and what transpired is you and your peers laughing and snickering and making light of a human being who had died, and I think that your intent in that moment is fucking irrelevant.” Many of the viewers who have chimed in via the interview’s comment section have noted their skepticism regarding the sincerity of Paul’s comeback attempt. But the controversial star believes his upcoming documentary will resonate with those who watch it. “I think Hollywood, America, they love redemption stories,” he said.<doc-sep>
"Is it possible for Logan Paul to make a comeback, or am I going to be a failed YouTuber and crawl into a hole like half the world wants me to do?" Paul said. Logan Paul, the YouTube provocateur who was widely condemned for his "Japanese suicide forest" video earlier this year, apologized in a wide-ranging interview published Friday for bringing “shame upon the platform,” but said that he does not believe he is “culturally insensitive.” Casey Neistat / YouTube The interview with Casey Neistat, one of YouTube's most popular creators, was more than half an hour in length, and purportedly unedited with "nothing off limits." Neistat, who has nearly 10 million subscribers on the video platform, said he "harbor[s] a lot of self-doubt" about whether the interview was "just a charade for good PR." "There’s a little bit of me that thinks maybe I’m enabling Logan," confessed Neistat. In case you somehow forgot, Paul was heavily criticized in January when he posted a now-deleted video of a dead body he found in the "Japanese suicide forest." YouTube The backlash was swift and tremendous. Paul lost business deals, and YouTube temporarily cut off his ad revenue. Paul deleted the video and apologized, tweeting, "I've never faced criticism like this before, because I've never made a mistake like this before." In Friday's interview between the two YouTube stars, Paul said the suicide forest video happened because he "got so caught up with my actions being validated by millions of people." Casey Neistat / Youtube "I forgot to be a human being in that situation and instead decided to be a content creator, and that's where I messed up," he said. Paul also spoke about his upcoming documentary, which delves into his life and the suicide forest outrage, saying that he doesn't know yet whether he will monetize the documentary, but if he does, "100% of the proceeds will go to some sort of suicide prevention awareness program because that's essentially what this whole thing is about." Still, Logan Paul is extremely Logan Paul and will always be Logan Paul, said Logan Paul. “That’s why I’m a brand — that’s who Logan Paul is," he declared. "I bridge the gap between being a motivational speaker for kids, and saying, yeah I am a fucking kid. I’m 23 years old and if I want to go jump out of a plane naked, I’m going to go fucking do it. But at the same time, you can work hard and achieve your goals.” During the interview, Paul pushed back on Neistat's questions about whether he's "culturally insensitive." Casey Neistat / Youtube Neistat specifically referenced videos from Paul's trip to Japan in which he threw stuffed Pokéballs at people while dressed as Pikachu and ran around wearing a kimono and kasa. Paul said that was not culturally insensitive because "they sell the outfits in Japan.” “There’s a difference between being culturally insensitive — being insensitive towards a culture — and being insensitive,” he said. "I jumped off a bridge in Italy, is that culturally insensitive? Is saying 'mamma mia' culturally insensitive?" he continued. Paul also spoke about his much-hyped upcoming boxing match with rival KSI, which he framed as part of his redemption arc. Extra seats have been added, plus a seat map too. See you guys there 🙌🏿🙌🏿 https://t.co/Q3usn6kDJP "It's about being able to get hit in the face, whether they're a result of your own actions or not — in my case they are. I'm the one who fucked up," said Paul. “It’s the new Logan Paul,” he said. “I have no interest in bantering back and forth with someone who is the exact person I’m not trying to become by degrading women, by going after my family in a manner that is intended to harm." Paul said his documentary is about "a seemingly regular kid ... falling into the social media machine over the past four years, building an audience, garnering false power ... and then essentially losing it all overnight [and] becoming the most hated man in the world in the snap of a finger." Casey Neistat / YouTube