Logan Paul Sued by Film Company for Lost Revenue After Suicide Forest Video
Editor's Note
If you experience suicidal thoughts or have lost someone to suicide, the following post could be potentially triggering. You can contact the Crisis Text Line by texting “START” to 741741.
Logan Paul, an entrepreneurial YouTuber turned boxer, is the subject in a new lawsuit thanks to his decision in 2018 to post a graphic video showing a man who died by suicide in Japan. The lawsuit is being brought by a production company that reportedly lost $3 million after a project with Paul fell through.
According to TMZ, Planeless Pictures was set to produce a film called “Airplane Mode” where Paul would star as a fictionalized version of himself. Other YouTube influencers, such as Jake Paul, Juanpa Zurita, Nick Bateman and Amanda Cerny, were set to come on board. The film would then be released through these influencers’ channels as a new marketing ploy for films.
In its lawsuit, Planeless Pictures said it lost a $3 million licensing deal with Google during the fallout after Paul posted a video of a man who died by suicide. Backlash to Paul’s video was swift and he lost several partnerships in the process.
Following the backlash, Paul posted an apology on social media. He then teamed up with advocates to create a suicide prevention video. As part of his apology, Paul also pledged $1 million dollars to suicide prevention causes.
Paul donated an initial $250,000 to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and, as of December 2019, donated a total of $318,000 of his full pledge. When The Mighty reached out to Paul’s manager, Jeffery Levin, in 2019, he said Paul planned to donate the $1 million over the course of 10 years.
“Logan remains committed to making these large annual donations to fully vetted organizations that support mental health and wellness in a meaningful way over the course of 10 years,” Levin previously told The Mighty. “While $1,000,000 was the commitment, this number will be exceeded over time.”
The Mighty did not hear back from an earlier follow-up request to confirm if Paul had donated an additional $50,000 and $75,000 Levin said Paul committed to donate to suicide prevention by the end of 2019. The Mighty reached out to Levin and Paul’s team for comment on the lawsuit and the current status of his commitment to suicide prevention organizations and has yet to hear back.
TMZ said Planeless Pictures alleges in the lawsuit Paul deliberately posted the suicide video knowing it would ruin the movie deal.
Header image via Logan Paul/YouTube
Renée Fabian was the features editor at The Mighty. She has also written for The Washington Post, VICE, Healthline, Talkspace, The Fix, The Establishment, The Culture Trip, and GRAMMY.com, among others. Renée was named a 2019 AHCJ Comparative Effectiveness Research fellow, a 2020 USC Center for Health Journalism California fellow, and holds a master's degree in journalism from the University of Southern California and a master's degree in psychology from Antioch University Los Angeles. You can follow her on Twitter @ryfabian.
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