Etika, also known as Desmond Daniel Amofah, was an American YouTuber and streamer. He was well renowned for his hilarious animated reactions to Nintendo Direct and Super Smash Bros gameplays. Amofah also used to stream himself playing and reacting to different games. He began streaming in 2006 on YouTube and quickly became popular after posting reaction videos of different gameplays on his second channel started in 2012. He mostly focused on Nintendo-related games and was known in particular for his Super Smash Bros. 4. His fans were known as the JOYCONBOYZ which is derived from the Nintendo controller Joycon.
Unfortunately, Etika died by suicide on June 19, 2019, after suffering from mental health problems for a long time. Fans, other YouTubers, and the media all expressed shock and sadness in response to his passing, and many called for people to take mental health seriously because Amofah’s mental decline was both disregarded and ignored online. Read on to learn more about how he died.
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Mental Health Struggles Of Etika
Etika had a history of mental health struggles that were known to his fan base. In October 2018, his Twitter account was suspended when he used a derogatory term in his tweet. This led to him posting a video on his YouTube channel which mentioned more slurs. Following that, he even posted a video with pornography. This led to his channel being terminated.
After facing problems with his channels, he started posting vague weird messages like “It’s my turn to die.” In April 2019, after the suspension of his YouTube channel, he once again posted many cryptic tweets about killing himself. He even posted an edited picture of him, showing a gun to his head.
This incident resulted in him getting detained and hospitalized. Even so, he live-streamed his detaining to thousands of fans online. Several of Etika’s supporters mistook the events leading up to his suicide as a hilarious act by Etika because of his unpredictable conduct at this time rather than indications that he was having mental health issues.
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The YouTuber‘s Death
The ‘I’m sorry’ video was posted to Etika’s own YouTube channel, ‘TR1Iceman’, around midnight. on June 20, 2019. In the video, Etika acknowledged that he had mental health problems, expressed his struggle with the attention he had attracted via streaming, and apologized for alienating people. This video was promptly removed by YouTube as it violated many guidelines, but his fans reposted many versions online.
On June 19, 2019, Etika leaped from the Manhattan Bridge and drowned after leaving some of his personal items on the sidewalk. He was reported missing after his last video was uploaded and the police department began searching for him. His personal belongings were discovered on the same day but his body was found on June 24. He was found half a mile away from his stuff and the NYPD confirmed that the body was of the YouTuber. The medical examiner confirmed that the death was due to drowning.
Etika’s sudden death raised awareness of mental health and how one should check up on their near and dear ones if they are prone to suicidal thoughts. Many YouTubers posted tributes for Etika. James Charles, PewDiePie, and Lil Nas X all posted heartfelt tributes for the YouTuber and highlighted how mental health is not a joke. Many celebs campaigned to raise awareness about different mental health problems.
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