The first chunk of that pledge is a gift of $250,000 to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. The organization’s director John Draper also appears in Paul’s video, sharing some basic information on suicide prevention, the topic that has become Paul’s de facto cause due to his insensitive video at the end of last year. But the intended message of the video seems to be that he’s interested in more than just a financial pledge: It’s definitely a change in tone from the usual irreverent pranks that brought Paul his YouTube stardom, and time will tell whether it does the trick and allows him to regain some of his former stature. Of course, thanks to his own lucrative Maverick line of merchandise, even if he’s never allowed back into the Google Preferred fold, he’s already more than likely to come out of this whole thing doing just fine financially.
