Recent developments have caused fans of YouTube personality and musician Lia Marie Johnson to express concern over her mental health. These concerns primarily arose because of a video Johnson posted on Instagram recently, but it is not the first time they have surfaced.
Lia Marie Johnson began drawing notice when she appeared on YouTube in the Fine Brothers’ Kids React video series on YouTube, and from there, she drew more traffic to her own channel and her independent career began to take off, though just like other YouTubers, she seemed to take a break for some time. This raised red flags for fans for some time as her absence began to be accutely felt.
Fears were re-ignited when Johnson posted a long livestream video on Instagram on Christmas Eve. The video was long and rambling, with Johnson’s speech being slow and slurred, accompanied by frequent pauses and other odd behavior. When asked by fans during the stream, she refuted that she was on drugs, declaring that her peculiar behavior and speech was due to her “mindset” at the time. While not completely out of the norm in terms of bad things happening to YouTubers on stream, the video nevertheless reawakened old concerns about the largely inactive and erratic Johnson.
Click here to watch the stream in question, but be warned of some NSFW content.
The earlier concerns center around similarly frightening posts made by Johnson in May, which led to speculation that her mental condition was deteriorating. Before these posts, Johnson had been inactive online for around a year, with her last video on her own YouTube channel being audio for her song Champagne. Her posts on social media have also been sparse, and the last instance of her acting career to date has been in the 2018 film Bayou Caviar.
The reaction from fans and other concerned parties, including other YouTube channels, will not be surprising to anyone who remembers recent events on the platform. It was not too long ago that famous gamer and YouTube personality Desmond “Etika” Amofah committed suicide after a long and public history of mental health problems, with fans and friends recently mourning his passing with a mural. It is no doubt with thoughts of death or disappearance in their heads that some fans flock to try and learn all they can about Johnson’s condition, although neither Johnson herself nor those close to her have been forthcoming in that regard.
Events like this draw attention to the dark side of fame, particularly the relatively new brand of YouTube fame, that is often out of the spotlight, but also highlight the compassion of a fanbase. Building a career in this way leads to real risks, and as distressing as it is to see a possible mental break in a performer, it is heartening to see the fans who love her reach out to try and help. We can only hope that Lia Marie Johnson is alright and is being cared for by those who love her.
