BBC Radio 1 and Charlie Sloth cancelled an interview with controversial YouTube star Logan Paul after receiving a huge backlash from listeners.
Paul was interviewed alongside fellow YouTuber KSI ahead of their upcoming amateur boxing match at Manchester Arena on August 25, prompting outcry from listeners. The show was due to air last night:
https://twitter.com/BBCR1/status/1021783159644581888
Most notably, Paul’s career was rocked at the beginning of the year after he uploaded a video featuring the body of a suicide victim. The clip, which was watched over one million times on Paul’s YouTube channel, showed the vlogger and his friends discovering a dead body in Japan’s Aokigahara Forest, a notorious suicide hotspot.
A trailer for the show posted on BBC Radio 1’s Twitter earlier this week caused instant backlash from those arguing that the controversial Paul should not be given any publicity, following a string of controversies.
In the wake of this, many listeners have called on Radio 1 not to broadcast the interview with Paul and KSI. “Why on EARTH is he getting any more publicity?! He’s absolutely disgusting!” replied one user.
https://twitter.com/luceeanna/status/1021783569864249345
https://twitter.com/RunJKB/status/1021785033110183937
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— |charlie is changing| (@notacpt) July 24, 2018
Logan Paul is everything that is wrong with the modern world. Love @CharlieSloth show but don't have him back on
— Nickknight007 (@nickknight007) July 24, 2018
Then, BBC Radio One took to Twitter to announce that the interview had been pulled:
“Tonight, we were going to hear from Logan Paul and KSI,” said Sloth. “We wanted to talk about their boxing match, and find out what it was all about.
“We had a whole segment planned out. We were listening back to the interview with Logan, and even though it was only one part of a wider piece, we don’t feel it’s right [to air it].
“We decided we’re not going to run it. We know some of you have very strong views on Logan, but at the end of the day, if we don’t think it’s good enough, we ain’t gonna go with it!”
We were going to hear from Logan Paul & KSI on their boxing match tonight.
After listening back to the interview we don’t feel it’s right.
We understand some of your strong views on Logan – but ultimately if we don’t think the interview is good enough – we don't air it.
— BBC Radio 1 (@BBCR1) July 26, 2018
A similar statement issued via BBC Radio One’s Twitter also received criticism from listeners:
— Jordan Baker (@jordnbaker) July 26, 2018
So you aren't airing it because you think the interview wasn't good enough? Or you regret interviewing logan? Which one?
— Jayson Wheatley (@Jaywheatley) July 26, 2018
Just own up and admit you shouldn’t have had Logan on??? pic.twitter.com/648oASzEIl
— Carbon247 (@Ed63191963) July 26, 2018
Good call guys.
Altho we'd rather you were honest, you clearly were happy to air it because you advertised it. Decisions like this are not made on the day they're planning to air something. We're not stupid.
Feel bad for ksi tho.— Feeling Odyssey (@FeelingOdyssey) July 26, 2018
Host Charlie Sloth has been vocal in his criticism of Logan Paul in the past. In January he named the YouTuber his ‘Wally of the Week’, beating the likes of Donald Trump to the accolade.
“Millions and millions of people around the world look up to Logan Paul including loads of youngsters, my children are some of those youngsters, they look up to Logan Paul like a superstar” he said on his show in January. “Fam, let’s face it, you are an absolute wally.”
WHY give this man any fucking airtime, swear Charlie went in on him about the whole situation earlier this year?
— Paige (@PaigeStainsby3) July 24, 2018
Sloth made a point of criticising Paul’s initial reaction to the outrage, with an ‘apology’ that many deemed to be self-serving. “He made that apology to massage his own ego, I don’t feel like he even cared,” said Sloth. “I don’t think he felt any remorse whatsoever and that made me feel even worse about the whole thing.”
Paul later uploaded a more lengthy second apology and begged for a second chance. He subsequently returned with a video about suicide awareness, before returning to regular content.