TikTok fame can happen very quickly. One day you upload a funny video of yourself sharing your day, doing a challenge, or dancing, and the next day you have hundreds of thousands of followers watching you. Many big TikTokers have managed to turn their massive TikTok followings into successful careers and built businesses around it. But at the same time some very promising TikTokers have left us way too soon, often due to personal struggles or the pressures of fame that can accompany rapid success.
Ethan Is Supreme
Ethan Peters had quite an entrepreneurial spirit. He started out his online career by having a meme account on Instagram with over 1 million followers. He sold it for $25000 and made a new account when he saw that beauty guru boys were making it big online. He managed to build quite a large following in the makeup community on Instagram and YouTube and eventually started posting on TikTok too. Across his social media, he had more than a million followers. He died in 2020 at the age of 17. His father found him in his room, and he believed the cause of death was an overdose.
Timbo the Redneck
His real name was Timothy Isaiah Hall, but he was known as Timbo the Redneck on TikTok. He made funny videos that showcased his slightly roug-around-the-edges but charming Florida persona. He had a quarter of a million followers on TikTok and was generally known to be a fun guy. He died in 2021 when he was only 18. His mother posted a video on his TikTok explaining that he won’t be making any more videos because Timbo was in a devastating car accident and didn’t make it. She thanked all the fans for their love and support and shared a GoFundMe link for the funeral.
Swavy
Matima Miller’s TikTok handle was @Babyface.S, but to his followers, he was known as Swavy. He became popular on TikTok thanks to his comedy and dance videos. He unfortunately died after a shooting in Wilmington, Delaware in 2021. He was only 19 years old.
Wendy Williams addressed the case on her show by emphasizing that she did not know who he was and suggesting that no one else in the building did either, before announcing that he had been murdered. The segment drew significant criticism, with many viewers describing her tone as insensitive and dismissive given the gravity of the subject.
Caitlyn Loane
Caitlyn Loane was known for posting videos about her life as a farmer in Tasmania. Her bio proudly stated, “Promoting Women in Agriculture.” She was a bright young girl who wasn’t looking for TikTok fame, she just wanted to share the day-to-day farming life people usually didn’t get to see on their feeds. She seemed happy, cheerful, and refreshingly genuine. She wasn’t afraid of getting her hands dirty, and you would sometimes see her knee-deep in mud in her videos. Her mother said that her smile would light up the room. She took her own life in 2021 when she was only 19.
Dazharia Shaffer
Dazhria Shaffer, also known as Dee was building an audience across social media, but especially on TikTok. She was known for her dance videos, beauty and lifestyle content. She even started a small business called Dee Beauty. It looked like she was just getting started and had so much going for her, but she took her own life in 2021 at age 18. Her father shared on the GoFundMe page that he wishes his little jelly bean shared with him about her stress and dark thoughts so that they could work through this, and he just wants to hold his baby again, but he’s had to let her fly with the angels.