Pop Spotlight

Kevin Samuels, the popular YouTuber known for his controversial dating advice and comments about Black women, has died. He was 56.

Samuels’ mother, Beverly Samuels-Burch, confirmed her son’s death to NBC News, although declined to share details. Samuels-Burch added that she learned of her son’s death from social media: “That was a terrible thing for social media to put that out,” she said. “I didn’t even know. I hadn’t even been notified. All I’m doing is requesting that people pray for us.”

Per a police report, Samuels was taken to a hospital in Atlanta on Thursday, May 5, after authorities responded to a call about an unresponsive male on the floor of his apartment. The call was made by a woman, who said she’d met Samuels the previous night, had gone back to his apartment, and spent the night with him. The woman said Samuels began complaining of chest pain the following morning, and while she tried to help him, he fell.

The woman reportedly called 911 and had the emergency operator contact the front desk of Samuels’ building for a defibrillator. After an ambulance arrived, Samuels was taken to Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta. (Rolling Stone has reached out to the woman involved for comment.)

A self-described “image consultant” and “influencer,” Samuels had amassed 1.4 million subscribers on his YouTube channel since joining in May 2015, while his videos have garnered over 295 million views (as of publication). While he doled out plenty of broad lifestyle advice, it was Samuels’ musings on relationships and dating that gained him both popularity and notoriety. 

Samuels was popular enough that, back in February, Future had him offering dating advice in the music video for “Worst Day.” But Samuels frequently drew sharp criticism and accusations of misogyny for the views he spread in videos with titles like, “Women Should Let Men Use Them,” “Modern Women Are Not Prepared,” and “The ‘Should Modern Woman Focus on Themselves’ Fallacy.” 

Just last week, Samuels shared a video on Instagram where he said, “If you have made it to 35 and you are unmarried, you are a leftover woman. You are what is left. Men know that there is likely something wrong with you. Whether you want to hear it or not, I’m going to go there with you. I’m telling you the truth that you don’t want to hear.”