A TikTok star has committed suicide just days after sharing a farewell video where he thanked his fans and described how he wanted to be remembered.
VonViddy, real name Joe Muchlinski, took his own life on Monday, August 21 after telling the world how he ‘doesn’t want to be remembered’.
In the video, captioned ‘It’s all love’, he said one of his fears was being thought of only ‘as an addict and an alcoholic who put his family through hell.’
His sister Martha posted a series of childhood pictures of the online star as she paid tribute to him.
Friends described him as an ‘audio wizard’ with a ‘rare mind’ following his death.
VonViddy posted the one-minute and six-second video on Sunday, before his sister Martha confirmed his death.
She posted footage online saying that he ‘lost his long battle to mental illness’, adding that she wanted to make his fans aware.
The TikTok star garnered over 170k followers and 8.7 million likes on TikTok, sharing his original music and comedy sketches since 2020.
Muchlinski essentially posted his own obituary online hours before taking his own life.
Before his death he had posted videos talking about drug addiction, as well as referencing it in his final video.
He said in the footage: ‘I want to be remembered as a creator. As a creator of videos that made people laugh, and a creator of music.
‘I also want to be remembered as a camp counsellor who helped kids to make happy memories.
‘I’d rather not be remembered as an addict and an alcoholic who put his family through hell.
‘But unfortunately, that’s also part of me. I feel so thankful to have such a following.
‘You guys mean the world to me. All in all, I’ve had a terrific life. I’ve got to visit the other side of the world, and I’ve made tons of friends from all walks of life.
‘I have nothing to complain about, and I have nothing but peace and love for each and every one of you.’
His sister Martha posted several images on social media, telling fans: ‘Joe was my first word’.
She said in a video posted to TikTok: ‘I want to confirm for his fans that he did lose his long battle with mental illness, and he did take his own life.
‘TikTok meant a lot to him. It gave him joy. It gave him something to laugh at and to make other people laugh at.
‘And he really appreciated that. Joe fought a really, really long, terrible battle with his mental illness.
‘And all we can hope now is that he’s at peace. But I did want to provide that closure for anybody who was a VonViddy fan, just to let you know what happened.’
Watch the video here.
