Dubai-based social media influencer Rashed Belhasa has received backlash from fans after sharing an Instagram post supporting YouTube star Logan Paul, who faced fierce criticism after posting a video clip of a dead body hanging from a tree in Japan’s ‘suicide forest’ Aokigahara.
The post put up by Belhasa sees the 15-year-old standing next to Paul at an event in Dubai, with the caption stating he will ‘always’ be there for him.
“I just want to say @loganpaul is a brother I know your going through a lot just know I’m always there for you and our home in Dubai is open for you! Looking forward to see you back in action and everybody makes mistakes! Love always Rashed #loganpaul #mydubai #dubai,” the caption says.
The picture garnered over 200,000 likes and 2,000 comments, many of which are negative, and call for Belhasa to remove the post.
“No one makes a mistake of laughing at a suicide victim, bet you wouldn’t like him if the victim was a part of your family,” said one user, while another called Paul’s actions “unforgivable.”
However, some of Belhasa’s 1.2m Instagram followers said Logan Paul has learned his lesson and should be allowed to move on from the incident.
Twenty-two-year-old Paul, who has 15m followers on YouTube, was dropped by the platform’s preferred advertising program following the incident. He will also be cut from the upcoming season of the original series “Foursome,” a comedy show featuring Paul and a number of YouTube personalities.
A number of other shows Paul was involved in are also on hold, the platform said.
“We expect more of the creators who build their community on YouTube, as we’re sure you do too,” YouTube said in a statement. “The channel violated our community guidelines, we acted accordingly, and we are looking at further consequences.”
Following the incident, Paul took down the video and posted an apology that was seen by viewers over 39 million times.
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