Logan Paul has defended himself after fans expressed outrage over “disrespectful” comments he made about friend and Impaulsive podcast guest George Janko and his Christian faith, saying he “refuses to be steamrolled by the comments and the sentiment from last episode.”
Logan Paul’s 206th episode of Impaulsive featuring friend and actor George Janko has come under widespread criticism, after the two got into a debate about Christian values.
It came to a head with a hypothetical regarding Hitler, and the potential of killing him if he came back to life.
“Some guy was going back and he said ‘do you forgive everybody’ and I said ‘absolutely 100%.’ He goes ‘Hitler comes back to life, you have a chance to kill him right now, do you kill him?’ I go ‘No’,” Janko explained.
“Hitler at the end of the day was such a powerful speaker, so motivating and so strong in this situation. When I look at this man, or anybody like this man, I don’t just look at his flesh — there’s demons behind him, and I’m not trying to cast him out, I’m trying to kill the situation that’s making him evil.”
Segment begins at 50:20.
The comments were met with laughter from Logan Paul, who was taken aback by how “ludicrous” they were.
This response had the YouTuber in hot water, as many fans downvoted the video and voiced their disappointment in Paul’s “disrespectful” reply. “Logan and Mike were extremely disrespectful,” one commenter said. “One of the worst hosting I’ve seen on a podcast.”
Logan Paul addressed the backlash on the next episode of Impaulsive, where he said the podcast was a place to debate. Paul believes that while he considers Janko a great friend, he will point out how “insane” his opinion was.
“He’s very emotionally mature, so he comes from a place where he’s like ‘let’s settle this with love’ rather than try and create a gap because we believe in different things. I loved his take, and I even told him that ‘your religious beliefs let you uphold a very sound moral compass,’” he said in Episode 207.
Segment begins at 5:58.
Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates on Esports, Gaming and more.
“[It was] very noble, but telling me you’d spare Hitler is ludicrous. It’s a podcast. It’s about hearing different sides of the conversation. Commendable, but f**king insane — so insane to me that it became laughable. [Sparing Hilter] is crazy.”
Paul added that the Impaulsive podcast isn’t meant to cater to everybody, and he doesn’t expect everyone to agree with all the points he, or his guests, make.
“I understand that if you are on George’s side, and especially if you are a religious person, how you wanted to hear George talk and we always try to give our guests the benefit of doubt. I think there were some lines blurred between him being the guest and his opinion.
“This is not the podcast where you’re always going to hear the things you want to hear. I think if you listen to any podcast where that’s the case, that’s a miracle. That’s not us. I’m always going to be true to myself. If that’s not good enough for you guys, no problem.
“I love and appreciate the feedback, I just refuse to be steamrolled by the comments and the sentiment from last episode.”
Segment begins at 3:27.
The comments weren’t well received, with more listeners pointing out that they were disappointed with Paul’s attitude more than his comments.
Janko also issued a statement after the episode aired, telling fans he still considers Paul a close friend, and that he wasn’t offended by what happened on the podcast. The actor invited others to be more “open and honest” about their own beliefs, too.
“If you’re going to be open and honest about your opinion or your beliefs, you’ve got to understand that not everybody is going to see it exactly how you are.
“You’ve got to have patience and understanding. Everyone is raised with a different mindset and point of view.”