Logan Paul’s biggest controversy, when he filmed a dead body found in Japan’s Aokigahara Forest, was the cause for Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson cutting off all ties with the Youtuber for a long time. Paul looked up to Johnson as a personal hero and was saddened when he first heard the news.
In 2017, Logan Paul was filming a vlog about his visit to Japan. He filmed himself entering Aokigahara Forest, which was also dubbed a “suicide forest” since it was a location where many Japanese people ended their lives. Paul came across a corpse hanging from a tree, and after laughing in sheer disbelief, decided to point the camera at it to broadcast the shocking find. Unfortunately, this made Logan Paul public enemy number one for a very long time in the eyes of the Internet. Other YouTubers and his own fans, as well as other influencers from different platforms, expressed disdain for what Paul did.
Logan Paul actually made a few videos featuring The Rock earlier in his career, and they were on good terms. After the Aokigahara incident, his publicist contacted him, and since she also represented Dwayne Johnson, she revealed Johnson’s request that all ties between them be cut. Every picture and video of the two together would have to be removed for the time being according to Paul.
After the incident, Logan Paul has been building himself back up into an entirely new person. Paul cites his entry into professional boxing as the catalyst. His infamous rivalry with KSI (Olajide Olatunji) was settled in two different fights. According to Paul, the second fight brought him out of his previous mindset – and turned the two enemies, who legitimately hated each other, into friends and business partners.
KSI and Logan’s fight was what really blew up boxing as a form of entertainment for Youtubers. There are many organizations that put up bouts between different influencers, and it’s gotten to the point where they routinely call out legitimate fighters. In fact, in 2021 Logan Paul managed to convince Floyd Mayweather to participate against him in an exhibition match.
He started his own podcast, Impaulsive, and has been featured on others where he talks about his life and invites guests from all walks of life to share their stories. He talked more about his relationship with Dwayne Johnson on True Geordie Podcast as well.
After some time, Paul sought to rebuild his relationship with The Rock, who recently commented a nice message in response to a video Paul published. In Paul’s own words, the message made it seem “as if nothing ever happened.”
Ironically, Logan Paul himself turned into a professional wrestler for the WWE very recently. He’s been enjoying his redemption and new perspective on life on the Internet, and consistently reminds people what his humbling brought him. In line with his new persona, he plays a face character for the WWE (essentially a hero). It also helps that he was a former college wrestler, and his first few showings displayed his natural talent for wrestling as well as for showmanship.
