On August 22, the last publication of the influencer Charlie Sarriá appeared on his social networks. The tiktoker from Alicante died at the age of 20 after suffering from cancer for the last four years, and his last video was filled with expressions of pain and gratitude from his followers for everything he had given them. After the signs of pain, the controversy has reached TikTok and the rest of the networks: this is how some tiktokers have taken advantage of Charlie’s death .
During his years as an influencer, Charlie dedicated himself to sharing his day-to-day on TikTok and other social networks to show his reality and teach other users in the same situation to live with the disease. His pedagogical work on a subject that is still taboo in society, together with the content of pure natural entertainment on TikTok, earned him numerous followers, being a well-known influencer in the Spanish community.
The controversy arises as a result of the revelation of a group chat of influencers from the Nickname agency. In it, several content creators comment on the increase in followers that Charlie’s account experienced after his death, which many users have interpreted as disrespectful frivolity. The leak of this conversation outraged Kappah, one of Charlie’s closest friends, who posted a tweet criticizing these influencers ‘ apparent concern for the stats rather than the person.
Among the leaked messages, Kappah highlighted one that read: “Being objective, dying has no merit. Being the girlfriend of someone who has passed away, either. In life they did not get the following that they now have after their death ”. This message also highlighted the growth in popularity of Nerea, Charlie’s partner, known on TikTok as lanenahbrugal . Along with her mother, Nerea was the person most present in the last stretch of her life.
Charlie’s followers, Kappah and the rest of his closest environment began to criticize the content of said leaked conversation on networks. The first influencer to reveal his presence in the chat was Jorge Cyrus , which has meant that most of the criticism (several of them hate messages) is directed towards his person. Cyrus keeps her TikTok profile open , but his Twitter account has been closed.
Over the days, several tiktokers have been acknowledging their participation in said conversation , while others claim to have been there but not having seen it at the time or being aware of the subject. All of them have received strong criticism for the content of that conversation. Nerea, Charlie’s partner, published a video in which she lamented that all the hate fell on Jorge Cyrus and that the other participants in the chat “ have not been able to jump up and say ‘this is not right’. That is my rage and my pain .”
CHARITY EVENT IN MEMORY OF CHARLIE
Controversies aside, Charlie’s final farewell has by no means meant the end of his legacy . With five million followers on TikTok, her message of positivity and cancer awareness has resonated with many young people. His family, hand in hand with the Hospital Pedagogical Unit of Alicante , will organize the II Carlos Sarriá Charity Parade on October 1, which will serve as the last tribute to the figure of an influencer who dedicated his last years of life to entertain, raise awareness and banish the taboo that supposes a reality as hard as cancer.