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Etika

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Etika
File:Etika.jpg
Born
Daniel Desmond Amofah

(1990-05-12)May 12, 1990
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
DiedJune 20, 2019(2019-06-20) (aged 29)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Cause of deathSuicide
NationalityAmerican
Other namesEtika, Iceman[1]
OccupationYouTuber
Years active2012–2019
FamilyOwuraku Amofah (father)

Daniel Desmond Amofah (May 12, 1990 – c. June 20, 2019), better known online as Etika, was an American YouTuber and live-streamer, best known for his over the top reactions to various Nintendo products and games.

Following several months of apparent mental health and suicidal issues, Amofah disappeared on June 19, 2019.[2] On June 25, 2019, he was found dead in a river by the New York City Police Department from an apparent suicide.[3]

Early life

Amofah was born May 12, 1990 in Brooklyn, New York, to Owuraku Amofah, a Ghanaian politician.[4]

Career

Amofah started using YouTube to broadcast his gaming and reaction streams in 2012.[5] By 2019, he had over 800,000 followers between his YouTube and Twitch.tv channels.[6] Amofah's content had been described as Nintendo-focused.[7] In November 2016, two videos of Amofah's where he purported to have a Nintendo Switch console before its 2017 release were scrutinized by fans; the model he was using was 3D-printed by YouTuber Sandqvist at Etika's request..[7][8][9]

In June 2017, Amofah revealed himself to be the victim of multiple 'fake donations', or 'chargebacks' of large amounts of money sent to his PayPal account via stream donations, which would hit Amofah with hundreds of dollars in processing fees.[10]

In October 2018, he uploaded pornography to his YouTube channel, which violated YouTube's policies and led to its deletion.[11] He was also banned from Twitch that year for using a homophobic slur during a stream.[12] After his channel was deleted, Amofah wrote cryptic messages to social media, including the statement "it was time to die", that several of followers felt was suicidal in nature, and created a small panic.[11][1] Amofah took to social media that evening to confirm his well-being, along with other streamers who professed to having seen him safe and sound in person, as to allay the followers' fears.[13] He apologized after on Reddit.[11]

On April 16, 2019, Amofah tweeted that he was going to kill himself with a pistol he bought from a gun store in Long Island, which would lead to his arrest and hospitalization. Alice Pika, who had dated Amofah from 2011 to 2017, said he was fine, and that she had been "observing him all day".[14] Days later, he posted a picture of himself holding a gun which Pika said was fake. On April 29, after tweeting various cryptic, anti-semitic, and homophobic messages, he blocked close friends of his.[12][15] Later that day, he live-streamed himself getting detained by police to 19,000 viewers on Instagram Live.[11][16] He was detained again that week for fighting a police officer.[17] Amofah went onto the YouTube channel DramaAlert for an interview in which he claimed he was the "antichrist" and that he wanted to "purge all life".[16]

Disappearance and death

On the evening of June 19, 2019, Amofah posted a YouTube video titled “I’m sorry” to his alternative YouTube channel Tr1Iceman, alluding to his suicidal thoughts. It was later removed from the website for violations of Youtube’s Community Guidelines.[1] He was last heard from at 8 PM that night and was reported missing to the New York Police Department (NYPD).[18] He was last seen wearing a gray T-shirt.[18] On June 22, his belongings were found on the Manhattan Bridge, including a backpack, wallet, laptop bag, cell phone, a change of clothes, and a Nintendo Switch console.[19][20] On the evening of June 24, a body was found near where his belongings were found, about half a mile down the East River and reported to the NYPD.[6] By the morning of June 25, NYPD had recovered the body and confirmed it was Amofah, and is currently conducting an investigation of the cause of death.[5]

While Amofah was missing, fellow streamers and his fans tried to reach out to him to offer their help and show their appreciation of his work over the years. Several fans asked for Amofah's final video to be re-uploaded to YouTube to help memorialize him.[1]


F.

References

  1. ^ a b c d Alexander, Julia (June 25, 2019). "Popular YouTuber Desmond 'Etika' Amofah found dead". The Verge. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
  2. ^ INSIDER, Kat Tenbarge. "A missing YouTuber's backpack and phone were found on the Manhattan Bridge after he posted a disturbing video talking about suicide". Business Insider.
  3. ^ https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-48756120
  4. ^ Hactos (2018-02-28), ETIKA TALKS ABOUT HIS DAD, retrieved 2019-06-21
  5. ^ a b "Etika: Body found in search is missing YouTuber". BBC. June 25, 2019. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
  6. ^ a b D'Anastasio, Cecilia (June 25, 2019). "Popular YouTuber Etika Dies At 29". Kotaku. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
  7. ^ a b Frank, Allegra (October 17, 2016). "Why do people keep making fake Nintendo consoles?". Retrieved June 25, 2019.
  8. ^ Life, Nintendo (2016-11-14). "Weirdness: Streamer Claims To Have Nintendo Switch, Flaunts It During Live Broadcast". Nintendo Life. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
  9. ^ D'Anastasio, Cecilia. "That YouTuber's Infamous 'Nintendo Switch' Is Fake [CORRECTED]". Kotaku. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
  10. ^ D'Anastasio, Cecilia. "YouTuber Reminds Fans How Much Fake Donations Can Hurt". Kotaku. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
  11. ^ a b c d D'Anastasio, Cecilia. "YouTuber Etika Livestreams Himself Getting Detained By Police To 19,000 Viewers". Kotaku. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
  12. ^ a b "Etika tweets anti-Semitic, homophobic messages—then gets arrested". The Daily Dot. 2019-04-29. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
  13. ^ Vultaggio, Maria (October 26, 2018). "ETIKA RESPONDS TO SUICIDE ATTEMPT RUMORS ON REDDIT, SAYING 'YAY I BROKE THE WORLD'". Newsweek. Retrieved June 25, 2019.
  14. ^ EDT, Steven Asarch On 4/16/19 at 10:16 AM (2019-04-16). "What happened to Etika? Streamer handcuffed and hospitalized after suicidal Twitter outburst". Newsweek. Retrieved 2019-06-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  15. ^ EDT, Steven Asarch On 4/29/19 at 1:07 PM (2019-04-29). "Etika is back on Twitter, posting pictures with guns and anti-semitic ideology". Newsweek. Retrieved 2019-06-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  16. ^ a b "Twitch star Etika says he wants to 'purge all life' in bonkers interview". The Daily Dot. 2019-05-01. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
  17. ^ "Etika reportedly detained after fighting police officer". The Daily Dot. 2019-05-02. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
  18. ^ a b Weissmann, Ruth; Eustachewich, Lia (2019-06-21). "YouTube star Etika vanishes after posting cryptic 'suicidal' video". New York Post. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
  19. ^ "Missing YouTuber Etika's belongings found". 2019-06-24. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
  20. ^ "YouTube star Etika missing, fans concerned after recent video". ABC7 Chicago. 2019-06-24. Retrieved 2019-06-25.
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