In the realm of social media stardom, Logan Paul stands out not just for his immense fame but also for the controversies that have shaped his journey. From questionable decisions to public scrutiny, Paul’s story is one of transformation and self-reflection.
In 2017, Logan Paul faced severe backlash for filming himself near a recently deceased corpse in Japan’s notorious “s**cide forest.” The incident triggered outrage and condemnation, leaving a lasting impact on Paul’s reputation.
Fast forward to the present, and Logan Paul is opening up about the repercussions of that fateful moment. In a candid conversation with WWE star John Cena, Paul revealed the emotional toll the incident took on him. He also talked about how the incident spoilt his relationship with his idol, Dwayne Johnson.
Paul stated on his YouTube channel: “You and Dwayne, I think were the people I definitely looked up to a lot when I was trying to figure out the blueprint for my career that didn’t exist. Dwayne especially, my idol. My hero and to the highest degree I wanted to be like Dwayne.”
“Eventually, in the same way I met you, I met Dwayne. He was just as cool in person as I thought he was on TV. He’s awesome.”
“We made content together, went mega-viral with 70 million views and 50 million views, and linked up a couple of times. Visited him on the set of Ballers. I would have considered us acquaintances, at least. He was just great, and then Japan happened.”
Paul described the aftermath as a low point in his life. The Rock was understandably hurt by the incident. He distanced himself from Paul, severing their professional ties. The emotional toll on Paul was profound, realizing he had disappointed someone he deeply looked up to.
He continued: “I could go into so much depth about my remorse and the place I was in and the faults I made at that time of my life. I had to really re-wire my brain and backtrack and ask myself how I let that happen and what went wrong in my life where I thought that was okay.”
“In that process, I did a lot of damage. It wasn’t something that was on the forefront of my mind, and I’ve had to do a tremendous amount of therapy and figure out what in my life that was so traumatic or didn’t happen that I did that.”
“DJ was one of the people I hurt because of his mother’s experience. That’s his experience to tell, I’m not going to share.”
“I hurt him so much that he basically wanted nothing to do with me, and rightfully so, you know? I let down my hero. And he requested that I remove all the content we’ve ever done together and basically kicked me to the curb. I would have done the same thing. Guy in his position, doesn’t want to be affiliated with a person who did something as reprehensible as that.”
Reflecting on the incident, Paul admitted his mistakes and the need for significant personal growth. He recounted the pain of realizing he had let down not only himself, but also his idol Dwayne Johnson.
“And I remember being such a low moment because I knew I let myself down. I knew I let my fans down. I knew I let my family down. but my idol too?”
“Man, it just stung so bad.”