Countless celebrities, including those who do not tweet often, have been prompted to say something after the untimely death of rapper Riky Rick.
The 34-year-old rapper is said to have taken his life on Wednesday morning for undisclosed reasons.
While the rapper’s family did not state what his cause of death was in a statement regarding his passing, sources close to the family shared the cause of death with a number of publications including The Citizen.
Due to the nature of his believed cause of death, yet another conversation about mental health and being kind to one another has sprung up, much to the annoyance of many who believe the concern is performative.
Riky Rick (real name Rikhado Makhado) was as nice as they come. A truly humble, respectful and considerate man, At least in my experience as a journalist who cut her teeth covering the South African hip hop and pop culture scene.
It is, therefore, understandable to me why Riky would have touched so many lives while he was alive and why he is so loved by so many people.
People including the likes of Connie Ferguson who implored social media users to be kind and compassionate in the wake of Riky Rick’s passing.
Ferguson was not alone, the likes of Pearl Thusi, Boity Thulo, Nina Hastie and Ayanda Thebathe are among the many who shared their thoughts on cyberbullying, mental health and kindness.
Their comments come just days after people on social media made fun of Riky Rick and his wife Bianca after he posted a video of them dancing and sharing an embrace.
“She looks sad”, “it’s like you are forcing her” and “she looks bored” were among the comments posted under Riky’s video and on Twitter when the video made its way to the platform.
Little did they know, this would be the last time such an interaction was documented and shared as Bianca is notoriously shy and has decided not to make use of social media.
The call to “be kind,” which often comes after someone has passed or taken their own life, has drawn much criticism due to the current nature of social media interactions.
Many feel as though the call to be kind is an empty gesture that falls on the deaf ears of people who are quick to not only make fun of others in a way that quickly turns into bullying but also call them “overly sensitive” for not taking the cyberbullying in jest.
Riky Rick’s death was confirmed by his family on Wednesday and many have speculated that the reaction to his video with Bianca may have worsened a pre-existing battle with some unknown problems.
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