Published 14:38 IST, February 18th 2020
YouTuber slammed for claiming to have FaceTimed with Caroline Flack after her death
A YouTuber faced a huge online backlash for pretending to FaceTime with British television presenter Caroline Flack just hours after her death was announced.
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A YouTuber faced a huge online backlash for pretending to FaceTime with British television presenter Caroline Flack just hours after her death was announced. The YouTuber, who goes by the name Vlogger Joe, uploaded an almost five-minute video titled “FACETIMING CAROLINE FLACK!! *SHE'S ALIVE!* *SHE ANSWERED... MUST WATCH!!*
In the video, the YouTuber claimed to have the phone number of Caroline Flack and said he was going to call her to find out whether she was “actually dead or alive”. Vlogger Joe, with more than 27k subscribers on YouTube, explained in the video how he managed to get her number “off the internet”, adding that he won’t read the number out to stop viewers from calling her.
The Vlogger then "messaged" Flack to ask whether she was dead or alive. “Hello Caroline, theres rumours that you are dead? Is this true? Please let me know x,” the text message reads. The YouTuber got a reply which read, “I'm alive, people are spreading rumours, don't believe anyone in these days.”
He also went on to ask whether she will ever be back to present Love Island and receives a message saying she hopes so. "Caroline Flack will be returning to Love Island soon, as has been proven here!" interprets Vlogger Joe.
Admitted it as 'skit'
At the end of the video, the Youtuber admitted that the whole thing was a “skit” and wanted to raise awareness about mental health issues since Flack committed suicide. At this point, when he asks her to FaceTime to "prove" she's real, he acknowledges the fact that this could be a troll, but inexplicably decides to carry on with the video anyway.
The comment section has been disabled for obvious reasons but netizens took to Twitter to lambast the YouTuber for being insensitive, especially to Flack’s friends, family, and well-wishers.
Here's my message to YouTuber, Vlogger Joe: What you are doing is disgusting. Exploiting deaths for views and monetary gain is sickening. It sickens me that this guy is using Caroline Flack's death, just to make a sick video using her death for views.
— Martyn Ford (@martynford04) February 16, 2020
14:38 IST, February 18th 2020