Chrissy Teigen rethinks her stance on Logan Paul after new video footage surfaces

Earlier this week, YouTube star Logan Paul posted a now much-derided video of himself walking through Japan’s Aokigahara forest and, while filming, discovering the body of someone who committed suicide. The online backlash was swift, which resulted in the 22-year-old Paul taking the video down and apologizing.

For many, Paul’s actions mixed with his hollow apology wasn’t enough, and they continued to call for further action. Chrissy Teigen saw this response and wrote a different take from her perspective–as a celebrity who is frequently thrust into the spotlight.

Re: Logan Paul, something I always think about is when people make…ethical mistakes, as in, not-illegal, should we really be trying I ruin their lives and end their careers or accept the apology, personally make a choice to stop watching, and move on.

— christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) January 2, 2018

Teigen was not defending Paul’s actions. Her point was simply that the backlash to these incidents often breed their own toxic culture. Considering the cycle of celebrity misdeed and apology that we’ve all seen play out many times, Teigen’s point is quite salient. In Paul’s case, however, the video wasn’t an isolated mistake but indicative of a pattern–and Teigen now seems to be realizing that in light of new revelations.

Today, YouTube news site We The Unicorns published a cut of Paul’s footage from his trip to Japan. In it, he mocks Japanese culture and individual people on the street. Its a cringeworthy montage of a tall blonde American buffoon laughing at an entire country’s expense. After seeing this, Teigen recanted her earlier tweets.

talk about the WRONG FUCKING HILL TO DIE ON https://t.co/F3VQ6T5nkD

— christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) January 5, 2018

I wanted us to be better. my thinking was around us trying to be kind, forgiving people. but oh my god. wrong. fucking. hill.

— christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) January 5, 2018

Of course, even with this backlash, Paul is still doing quite well for himself. By some estimates, he could have made up to $56,000 off of the suicide video, since it was monetized for a period of time. Not only that, he gained an additional tens of thousands of YouTube followers after this debacle.