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TJ Holmes
Hey there folks. It is Tuesday December 30th. And as we wind down this 2025, it seemed that this year was a year that being an influencer became a deadly occupation. And with that, welcome to this episode of Amy and TJ Robes. We have been talking about this and doing an episode about this for probably months. But you and I keep our eyes on a lot of news. And it seems like there was a great frequency of influencer deaths for various reasons.
Guest/Contributor
Correct.
Amy Robach
And it felt like we were seeing an influencer death, a tragic death, and a lot of them younger folks dying once a week. And we just started noticing it. And once we started noticing it, it actually became a pattern that was hard to ignore. And I started googling and researching and, yeah, people are taking note. This is happening.
TJ Holmes
You know, that's a good way to put it. We weren't paying enough attention to it till it became something you couldn't ignore. It has become that. And so we are here and we're talking about it. And actually, Ro, this is such an important thing to point out. We have actually been sitting on this full disclosure waiting to do this story, and we didn't want to because, wow, it's the end of the year, it's the holidays. This feels like a dude. This feels like a downer of a story. But the more we talked about it, this is such an important thing to point out. This was a significant year for death deaths among influencers. And the reasons for it are something we should all pay attention to.
Amy Robach
Absolutely. Because when you start thinking about it, when you make your living trying to get attention and get likes and get advertisers to then sponsor you, you're constantly seeking validation. You're constantly pushing the ball. You're trying to do things maybe that you wouldn't normally do. You might be a little bit more reckless in a sense to do something that would get attention. You're also letting people know where you are all the time. Where you're not, you're live streaming. And then people become obsessed with some of these influencers of the debts we saw, babe, it's sad, but many of them were murdered because they had obsessive fans. But people have these. That's part of what their job is, to get connected to others, make people feel like you're their friend, you're their cool friend that is going to tell them how to eat, what to shop, where to go, all of this. So there's just so much pressure. And then the mental health aspect of it, you're constantly living and breathing and you're paying Your bills based on who likes you. That can mess with a lot of folks.
TJ Holmes
I mean, it should mess with, I think, most of us. What you just described, I am sinking down in my seat to have that weight, that life that you have to, man, the way you put it, you have to be validated daily, constantly, in order to make a living. That is scary as hell. And so when you put in those terms, right, it looks all fun. Anybody can be an influencer now. It looks like a good time with robes. Every single person who is doing that, who is out there, and that doesn't matter how successful. It takes a toll.
Amy Robach
It has to. It does. Even celebrities talk about it. People who are at the top of their game and the biggest names in Hollywood will tell you when they read negative reviews, when they see the awful comments, it affects them. It affects all of us. We're human beings. It doesn't matter if you do this for a living. If you put yourself in the spotlight for a living, you still have feelings that can get hurt easily, even by strangers. And especially when you're an influencer. You're seeking that attention. You're seeking likes. You need people to like you, man.
TJ Holmes
So, yeah, I'm actually pausing road because we are. And again, we are. We're doing this in real time. We didn't record this earlier. There was a big story going on right now with Cardi B. You just mentioned even celebrities talking about the toll it takes on them. She just put out a whole video. Was it yesterday on Instagram, really going on about you all? It's getting a little much. It's getting too mean. And she did in her Cardi B. Way. But she took a moment to say, y', all, I. I'm reading. I'm seeing it, I'm feeling it. Please stop it.
Amy Robach
Yeah, please stop that. It's too much that mean is mean. And so, yes, some of these notable deaths we're talking about are suicides because a lot of these folks, we don't know all the answers, but they had loving. A lot of them were in loving relationships. Some of them were mothers. Some of them were, you know, they had full lives and just constantly putting yourself out there to be talked about, ridiculed, commented on, you know, and the worst is you start to build this following and you start to feel really good, and you love the likes and you love the good comments, and you believe them and they make you. They give you your value. And then when all of the mean ones come or you did something people didn't like, that the Opposite effect of that is devastating.
TJ Holmes
I learned. Where did I learn that? That you can't put too much into the good comments you get, because then you have to put so much value into the negative ones. Because you're saying that the good people, they're strangers to me too, but I'm. They're validating me. They make me feel good, so I'll believe them. But then you end up. You have to believe the negative, and that's not a good way to be, bro. This is. You know, what you're describing in waves now that I. I want to go take Sabine's phone from her.
Amy Robach
Right.
TJ Holmes
I know you describe it in such a way. And she's about to turn 13, where all bets are off now. She. She passes the tests on all these social. These apps and whatnot. So It's.
Amy Robach
It's.
TJ Holmes
It's terrifying. But, yes, you. You have. And again, we're not talking about a handful necessarily of deaths, and we. It's hard to keep an accurate count.
Amy Robach
I actually don't have a full count because also, some of these were pretty notable deaths, and they were international. It's not just here in the United States. This is obviously, you know, people know folks who are influencers in countries all around the world, which is really cool in a lot of ways, but it just shows you how widespread this is. But I was just looking at the different deaths. These are the notable ones. There are so many more than this, babe. I think it probably was more than one a week because we were seeing the headlines, but I was just able to collect some of the notable ones. One that really stood out. And this actually was just sad. I wanted to point it out because this one, I don't know, it touched me. Haley Okula, she was known as Nurse Haley. She was a nursing influencer. She died at 33 after giving birth. You know, it's just. You know, you. It's just. And people were along for it, and they were there. And she had fertility issues, and she talked about it, and everyone followed her. So that's also devastating for the people who are looking to her as someone who's encouraging them and an inspiration to them. And then you see something tragic like this that affects all of her followers. Um, but then you even had Alicia Bernie. She was a YouTuber. She died at 24 from a fatal asthma attack. So it's like you start to see just. I think in some moments when you have medical emergencies or medical issues, it does raise awareness, but it's also scary as hell. She was in Mexico on vacation, she was actually a food influencer and she dies of an asthma attack. A fate. So it's just. You start to see, I don't know if she put herself in harm's way, if she put herself in a situation where she could have.
TJ Holmes
These are rant. Those are random. Those are an incident. Okay. Which are awful for people who have these huge followings. But again, to your point, it does raise awareness that people. These people are people pay attention.
Amy Robach
Correct?
TJ Holmes
Right. To these folks. But you know, those are. That can happen anywhere. But man, it's that. That's as tragic as that is. I don't know. Robes, it's. I'm thinking about some of these others, right. That we're talking about that you're about to get into. And is it dangerous now to be an influencer? Because we talked about. Think of all the professions we know about. Is it that are that many people dying in other professions? Suicide in other professions? I don't know what the rate could be. Are these just high profile? But it seems there's something going on in this community that we need to.
Amy Robach
Pay attention to, correct? No. Because if this many journalists were dying doing their job, if this many doctors or lawyers or celebrities, even actors, if this many people were dying, you know, for varying reasons, but because of the job, generally speaking, that would raise eyebrows. And so you start to look at this and say, what is the threat? What is tying this all together? Here are a few that will actually make a lot of sense. And these are certainly tied together. So you've got Valeria Masquera Marquez. She was a Mexican beauty guru. She was shot and killed while she was doing a TikTok live stream. So she accepted a package and it was someone posing as a delivery man. And he was actually a gunman and he targeted her and killed her on her live stream. Something happened very similarly in Colombia with a influencer model on her live stream. Then you also had Rodney Finley and his wife Tanisha. This made a lot of headlines in Las Vegas. They were YouTubers. They were fatally shot by a fellow streamer who had a feud with him. So it's just this, right? They're. They're competing for likes, they're competing for followers. There was a Venezuelan tiktoker this year, Jesus Sarmiento. He was murdered on a live stream because he denounced a gang, a drug game. And so they found him. They knew exactly where he was because he was live streaming. He had said something negative about them and he was murdered there in New Jersey. This was a big one. Christopher White, a New Jersey TikTok influencer, was tracked from his live stream and murdered. I mean, this. I'm telling you, I have chills right now. I just kept reading all of these folks who were found by their assassins, by their killers, because they were on a live stream. Bruna de Castro was stabbed to death for rejecting romantic advances, and he was on a live stream. It's just. I mean, she was on a live stream.
TJ Holmes
Where was that one?
Amy Robach
I don't know where that was. This was Bruna de Castro, so I think it was somewhere in South America. Pakistani Tick tocker. Sana Yusof, killed by a fan turned stalker for rejecting his friendship attempts. And he found her because she was live streaming.
TJ Holmes
Wait a minute. Oh, say it again. The. Who was the one that was killed was a man or woman?
Amy Robach
It was a woman.
TJ Holmes
Okay, okay.
Amy Robach
She was killed by a fan turned stalker because she rejected his friendship attempts.
TJ Holmes
Damn.
Amy Robach
So he. He knew exactly where to find them. So anyway, there are, sadly there, and there are some here in the States. This isn't just in a scary country. This was New Jersey. This was Las Vegas. So a lot of these folks unknowingly put themselves in harm's way and put a target on their back because they are live streaming. And anyone who they might have rejected or who they might have upset unknowingly by not responding to them, they know exactly where to find them. They know exactly where to target.
TJ Holmes
But should we understand now this is the risk you take in doing this job? And it seems bizarre to think that something you can literally do by just sitting on your couch is now a threat to your health.
Guest/Contributor
Yeah.
Amy Robach
And I think. I think this needs to be heard. Parents need to hear these numbers and these stories and these names. And kids need to recognize. I think, yes, the kids feel invincible. Isn't that what kids always feel like, oh, no one's gonna hurt me. No one's gonna. It's not gonna. You always think it's crazy to see my daughter's friends all know exactly where they are. They track them. That we look at that as a potential threat or as something scary. Why do you want so many people knowing exactly where you are? But I don't think kids, and certainly these younger influencers, understand how dangerous it is to let the world know exactly where you are all the time.
TJ Holmes
As you're talking. Ish. About some of those people, as you're rejecting some of those people. Right. As you're engaging sometimes with some of those people, you are. It shouldn't be. Right. I Guess we should understand now. It comes with the territory, but it shouldn't be the case. We all understand, but I don't. Robes. I don't know. This is one aspect we talked about, the stalker kind of aspect of it there. The other side of it. The other side. And I don't know. You've looked at more of the cases than I have, and I don't know if you have some kind of a breakdown or a feeling that the majority of the deaths came from those types of incidents of murder or suicide.
Amy Robach
Suicide.
TJ Holmes
Suicide.
Amy Robach
And a couple of them we can go over are also just from folks taking massive risks, climbing things, dangling off to get a picture, and literally fell to their deaths.
TJ Holmes
And you highlighted some of the homicides there, but I would have to assume overwhelmingly the deaths we're seeing are suicide and not homicide. I say those cases should be rare. There was a lot.
Amy Robach
There were a lot of murders, babe. And I didn't even get to all.
TJ Holmes
This is all this year.
Amy Robach
Yes. This is this year only. And it didn't take long to hunt for this. And yes, the suicides are significant. And. And they range in ages 37, 27, 31. 31.
TJ Holmes
It's just 29.
Amy Robach
And I was reading all of these stories of these folks who were loved and who people did not recognize. They did not see the signs until it was too late.
TJ Holmes
All right, well, stay here, folks. When we come back, we'll go through some of what is really probably the most concerning aspect of some of the deaths we've seen among influencers in 2025. Stay here.
Amy Robach
Welcome back, everyone. We are talking about something that I bet a lot of you might have noticed if you read the news like we do, if you pick up your phone, you're looking at headlines even on social media. It seemed like I was constantly. We were both looking at headlines of social media influencers dying, and a lot of them dying young and a lot of them dying at the hands of a stalker and unfortunately, sometimes dying by suicide.
TJ Holmes
That's the one I think I saw most of. I mean, I still.
Amy Robach
Suicide.
TJ Holmes
That's the one. I swear it felt like one a week.
Amy Robach
It did.
TJ Holmes
It did.
Amy Robach
In March. This was a big one. Tiktoker Joshua Blackledge. He died by suicide at the age of 16. That one was really sad. YouTuber Michiela Raines. This was a big one. She took her life at 29. There was. Oh, yes, there was a Tucker. Janelle. I don't know if I'm saying his name right, but this is. This was Just in December, this was a big story. Social media influencer died by suicide at age 31. So many folks did not. Did not see that one coming at all. And it was just one thing after another. And everyone said they did not recognize that those influencers were in pain, that they were even suicidal or having any sort of. Who.
Podcast Announcer
Thoughts like that.
Amy Robach
Right?
TJ Holmes
Who would have. Because isn't the point of this to social media? Are we trying to put our best face forward all the time? I know we talk about there are moments when people are vulnerable and those moments get a lot of attention, but babe, aren't we. I don't. Oh, are we missing signs? Because there are none if we're only looking at them through social media.
Amy Robach
We want people to think. If you're an influence, an influencer, especially you want people to think your life, I would think, for the most part, is special or cool or good. A reason to follow. Right? Something that's different than the. Than the rest. And so you're trying to put your best foot forward and show what. What's great and what you're learning and what you're doing and where you're going and who you're with. But the pressure of that, if it's not all real, and of course it probably isn't, you feel like a fraud. And those feelings just unfortunately. But it is incredibly, incredibly sad. I was reading from studies that show correlations between screen time and feelings of depression and anxiety. We see that with everybody, right? Our kids, but it's. Think about that. That's not just true for the fans, it's true for the creators as well. And if they're spending that much time creating the content, then they also have to go on the screens to then upload the content, then they have to read the comments, then they have to react to the comments. So they are literally on their phones or on their devices the entire day. That is what they are doing for a living. So it's on steroids from what we even see from our kids. And I saw this quote from a psychologist who was weighing in on this epidemic of social media influencer suicides. And she said, humans are not built to. To absorb daily criticism from strangers at scale. And I just thought that was such a powerful quote, y'.
TJ Holmes
All, what is wrong with us? We have lost it, Robes. We have lost our minds. This is who we are now. Our worth is in likes. This is not who in God's name. It's like a daily roast that you're volunteering for.
Amy Robach
And if you have other Influences, influencers who are competing against you. I mentioned Mikaela Raines. That's one of the women who. Young women who died by suicide. Her husband said this after his wife's suicide. And this kind of just hits it. He said his wife had been dealing with ridiculous crime claims and rumors and she felt as if the entire world had turned against her. Yeah, that's what they feel like when suddenly they get a bad something, a comment and then it goes off or someone tries to say you did or didn't do something. All of a sudden the world's turned against you and you, you can't see a way out. Oh, my God, isn't that just so sad? But it makes so much sense. It makes so much sense. And then I did mention some of the behavior that people engage in because they're trying to make the content that has led to several deaths in 2025. Hannah. Hannah Moody, 31 years old, big Instagram content curator. And she did her. She had big hiking adventures. So in May, she went for a solo hike in Scottsdale. She was later found dead. They said it was a heat exposure, that she died. So she's putting herself out there doing these hiking videos. She goes on solo hikes. That's what she's known for. And it ended up killing her influencer. Andreas Tonelli, he's 48 years old, uploaded a video of himself biking solo in the Dolomites and then he never returned. They found out later he died falling 650 plus feet while he was creating content on his bike. There are a couple influencers who died from during complications from cosmetic procedures to try and look, look different, look better. That was a couple of sad ones right there. And there was another one, Mary, her name was. Okay, that's a screen name. Mary Magdalene, that's just what she went by. But she was also known for her cosmetic procedure. She died falling from a high rise apartment building. So it was just getting a picture. So it's just, you see this risky behavior, you see this, this need for validation, and once that goes away, and if you feel like all of a sudden people have turned on you, you feel like you have nothing to live for. There's just, it's extremes. You're living in extremes. And unfortunately in all of these, you're giving away your power because you're letting other people dictate how you're received, how well you're liked and how much money you're making in a lot of ways.
TJ Holmes
Oh, this was tough. What robes. I'm, you know, I, I Just, I don't know, because there's so much value in it, in social media.
Amy Robach
Right, Right.
TJ Holmes
There's so much value, there's so much fun and that's so much money.
Amy Robach
There is. There's a lot of money to be.
TJ Holmes
Made that I think some of these things, I don't think we consider it the health hazard that it is yet.
Amy Robach
You're the one who said to me earlier, before we started, can you think of a more dangerous profession in terms of what we've seen this year with influencer deaths as a whole, as an industry? And I actually cannot think of, just collectively, I cannot think of a deadlier choice of profession given these headlines and given all these stories. And again, I just touched on it. There are so many more than what I mentioned. It wasn't hard to find it all when you googled. And I thought, wow, we all need to talk about this and at least for ourselves, for our children, and hopefully anyone out listening who is a social media influencer, just to know that it is risky for a lot of reasons and some of it just has to be based on, I guess, staying grounded, if that's possible, and keeping that face to face communication as the most important part of your day in terms of your. Who your relationships are with. You need actual people.
TJ Holmes
All right, well, y', all, thank you as always for spending some time here with us. Yeah. As we wrap up 20, 25, I this. How many we've had this prepared for how long? A week, maybe two, a couple weeks actually, that we've had this thing prepped and ready to go. And every time we sat down and wanted to do it, we think, you know what, people in a good mood right now, it's the holidays. Why bring people down with something? So. So I'm glad we got it in.
Amy Robach
Yeah, I am too. I think it's. It's a way to reflect and maybe a way to correct our behaviors and how we. How we. Our relationship with social media, period for 2026. So that is the hope and we hope you enjoyed listening. Everyone. Thank you as always. I'm Amy Robach alongside TJ Holmes and we will talk to you soon. A GLP1 helped you lose weight, but now you're noticing unwanted facial changes.
TJ Holmes
Yeah, the weight came off, but facial volume loss and dull sagging skin are making you look older. That's where the next phase of your weight loss journey comes in.
Amy Robach
There's before weight loss, after weight loss, and then the after. After.
TJ Holmes
Yeah. Help restore and refresh your facial skin and reclaim your Natur Natural Looking Youthful Glow.
Amy Robach
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Okay, only 10 more presents to wrap. You're almost at the finish line.
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Amy Robach
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Guaranteed Human.
Podcast: Amy Robach & T.J. Holmes Present
Host: iHeartPodcasts
Episode Date: December 31, 2025
This episode delves into the alarming increase in deaths among social media influencers throughout 2025, discussing how the profession has become one of the world’s most dangerous due to a combination of mental health challenges, risky content creation behaviors, and stalking or violence triggered by public exposure. Hosts Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes reflect on specific cases, broader trends, and the societal implications of living life in the digital spotlight.
Examples of influencers dying from health issues or accidents while engaging followers:
A disturbing number of influencers were tracked and killed by stalkers or attackers, often during live broadcasts:
Valeria Masquera Marquez: Mexican beauty influencer, shot and killed on TikTok live ([11:36]).
Rodney & Tanisha Finley: Las Vegas YouTubers killed by a feuding streamer ([11:36]).
Jesus Sarmiento: Venezuelan TikToker murdered after criticizing a gang ([11:36]).
Christopher White: New Jersey TikTok influencer tracked and murdered due to his live stream ([11:36]).
Bruna de Castro: Stabbed to death for rejecting advances, live on stream ([13:31]).
Sana Yusof: Pakistani TikToker, killed by a fan turned stalker ([13:33]).
Hosts discuss multiple high-profile influencer suicides, reflecting on the immense hidden pressures:
Joshua Blackledge: TikToker, died by suicide at age 16 ([18:07]).
Michiela Raines: YouTuber, died by suicide at 29 ([18:07]).
Janelle (Tucker?): Influencer, suicide at 31 ([18:07]).
Many were beloved, with no visible warning signs. The disconnect between online persona and reality complicates detection and prevention ([18:49], [19:13]).
On Emotional Toll
On Parental Fear
Industry Reflection
Robach and Holmes urge listeners to reconsider their relationship with social media and to recognize the very real, multifaceted dangers associated with influencer culture.
The episode serves as a warning, particularly to young people and parents, but also highlights the urgent need for support systems for digital creators.
Both hosts admit their own difficulty in addressing such a somber topic during the holiday season but reinforce its critical importance.
For further reflection:
If you or someone you know is impacted by these pressures, consider seeking support or help, and remember: What’s seen on social media rarely tells the whole story.