Although all of disgraced YouTube star Logan Paul’s projects are “indefinitely” on hold, the video-sharing platform’s chief business officer Robert Kyncl says they can’t know with full certainty whether they will work with him again.
“We don’t know,” the Kyncl said during YouTube’s panel at the Television Critics Association press tour on Saturday. “I couldn’t really answer that. Everything is evolving so fast and the best thing we can do is make sure we put all projects on hold indefinitely.”
However, Kyncl does think Paul still has a chance to make amends. “Actions should speak louder than words. Logan has the opportunity to prove that,” Kyncl says.
The two-time 2017 Teen Choice Award winner came under intense fire earlier this month after posting a video on Dec. 31 titled “We found a dead body in the Japanese suicide forest” that showed what appeared to be a dead man hanging from a tree in Aokigahara forest near Mt. Fuji. He took down the clip a day later, when it had already garnered at least 6 million views and has since apologized for the gaffe multiple times.
Kyncl says YouTube — who removed Paul’s channels from Google Preferred earlier this week and will not feature him in Season 4 of “Foursome” — acknowledges Paul made mistakes and they aren’t trying to sweep that under the rug.
“Specifically as to Logan,” Kyncl says. “I think, obviously, we believe he’s made missteps, unfortunate missteps. He’s expressed remorse very quickly. And uh, is learning from the experience.”
While Paul will still be able to monetize from his YouTube videos, like any average user, the benefits he reaped from his Google Preferred status, which allows advertisers to identify top content and purchase easy-to-buy ad packages, have been stripped.