YouTuber Logan Paul lost $5 million from Google Preferred removal

Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for
iHeartMedia

• Controversial YouTube star Logan Paul said he lost $5 million
  after he was removed from Google Preferred in January.
• Paul had uploaded a video from Japan’s “suicide forest” that
  showed a dead body, which was met with immediate backlash.
• YouTube then temporarily suspended ads from his videos after
  he posted a video in which he tasers dead rats.
• “I mean, YouTube had to take a stance,” Paul told The
  Hollywood Reporter.

YouTube personality and vlogger Logan Paul riled up controversy
this year with several insensitive videos that came under fire,
and it cost him.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter about
mounting a potential comeback, Paul said he lost an estimated $5
million when YouTube removed him from Google’s preferred partner
program (“Google Preferred”) in January after Paul posted a video
of a dead body hanging from a tree in Japan’s Aokigahara
Forest. It’s known as “suicide forest” because it’s a spot where
many have chosen to end their lives.

“I mean, YouTube had to take a stance,” Paul reflected.
“They’re not going to let some kid f— up their ad
platform.”

READ MORE: Logan Paul says he’s not going
anywhere: ‘Good luck trying to cancel me’

Google Preferred allows brands
to sell ads to the top 5% of YouTube creators. Ad revenue is how
Paul built most of his video empire, worth an estimated $13
million, according to THR.

The “suicide forest” video was met with immediate backlash,
and Paul removed it the day after it was posted. Celebrities like
Aaron Paul, who he called his friend before the incident,
publicly denounced him.

But Paul wasn’t finished provoking criticism. In February,
YouTube temporarily suspended all
ads from Paul’s videos after he uploaded one in which he
tasers two dead rats. Prominent YouTubers, such as Casey Neistat
and Phillip DeFranco, condemned his actions.

“One of the dumbest things I’ve ever done in my life,” Paul
said. “I thought, ‘I don’t know what to do right now. I’m already
hated. I guess I’ll give them a reason to dislike me.'”

Paul will turn his attention to podcasting next. He told
THR that he built a broadcast studio in his home to record an
upcoming podcast called “Impaulsive.”