Hooooo boy. Here we go. Logan Paul slithers out of hiding to give his first post-scandal interview, going on Good Morning America to tell Michael Strahan he feels penitent for the hurt he’s caused, but maintains it all happened for a reason. And that reason was so that he could grow.
On finding the body of a suicide victim in Japan’s “Suicide Forrest,” he says:
“[The body] was a hundred yards away from the parking lot. It doesn’t make any sense and I believe it happened for a reason. And I think that reason is so I could take this experience and learn from it, spread the message the right way about suicide prevention and suicide prevention awareness.”
SMH.
Other low points of the interview include his contrite reaction to being dropped by Google Preferred:
“I understand that they needed to take a stance,” he said. “And while I don’t necessarily maybe agree with it, I do respect it…It hurts, but it’s not like I’m drowning.”
And, of course, the chyron takeaway:
“I am a good guy who made a bad decision.”
Check out the interview below, and pay particular attention to how he now explains the timeline of events that led to the now-infamous video. I seem to recall him saying he went specifically to the Suicide Forest to see dead bodies so that he could later discuss suicide prevention with his fans. Now he seems to be implying he was just in some random forest to go camping, and unknowingly stumbled upon a body. That’s a big difference. Did I misread what he’s saying?
Anyway, I’m sure this GMA interview was just the first stop on his “brand salvation apology tour” (as ONTD so succinctly put it).