YouTube star Mikayla Raines dies by suicide, and her husband blames online abuse

23 amrrs 9 6/24/2025, 5:47:34 PM nbcnews.com ↗

Comments (9)

brettgriffin · 11h ago
Can anyone point to the abuse that was happening? I've tried searching but the hits are (rightfully) focused on her passing. I've scrolled the comments of several of her videos going back years and not seeing any negativity.

I'm just wondering what people could possibly have been saying to someone who rescues animals.

mrtksn · 11h ago
In the video they mention accusations rumors by people she knew, some of whom are other animal sanctuaries.

Apparently there was a reddit sub for harassing her: https://www.reddit.com/r/saveafoxsnark/

Somewhere else they mention kazeolion, wildliferehab, pale-explanation as the culprits.

No comments yet

mucha · 11h ago
TheChaplain · 11h ago
No surprise there, online stardom is toxic.

We saw that years ago when Totalbiscuit (famous gaming vlogger) spoke out about the constant abuse and harassment you experience from being a public figure with a comment field.

i80and · 12h ago
I never met her, but I did get the opportunity to tour the rescue. Wonderful place, and wonderful people.

I don't have much to add beyond that this is deeply heartbreaking.

bitwize · 12h ago
Oh! This is the lady with the famous laughing foxes:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fQVhppRP4Wo

Now it's doubly sad. There's a person at the other end of the line, folks... remember that.

carabiner · 12h ago
The tragic thing is how HN continues to blame "user error" when people die from the monster they've created. See this comment: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44267701
Henchman21 · 11h ago
Total aside from this tragic news:

One thing that I’ve learned in my decades in tech: adderall strips people of their ability to empathize.

Now, certainly this isn’t applicable to everyone. Further, its likely to garner many downvotes— no one likes looking in the mirror and seeing the bad parts. I get it, I too have had substance abuse problems. Admitting it is the first step :)

myth_drannon · 12h ago
One of the few Youtube channel that was just pure joy and goodness. If a person like her was suffering, I can't imagine to what kind of abuse the children are exposed through social media.