Over the weekend, the YouTube community was hit with some saddening news. The Bratayley family, known for its vlog videos, announced the death its son Caleb, who was only 13 years old.
The Bratayleys announced Caleb’s passing through an Instagram post, which was in turn confirmed by an ensuing video on their YouTube channel. For the channel’s viewers, who for the most part saw Caleb as a healthy, vibrant boy, the news came out of nowhere. The Instragram post cites “natural causes” as the cause of death. “This has come as a shock to all of us,” reads the post. “Words cannot describe how much we will miss him. His incredibly funny, loving and wonderful spirit made us all fall in love with him as a YouTuber, friend, brother and son.”
A separate video on the Bratayley channel (which has more than 1.6 million subscribers) serves as a tribute to the family’s departed son. It is very hard to watch:
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Shortly after the announcement of Caleb’s death, the YouTube community responded with an outpouring of love for the Bratayley family. Many of their fellow creators, including Shaycarl, Nikki Phillippi, and Matthew Lush, shared their condolences on social media. Maker Studios, which is partnered with the Bratayleys on YouTube, sent out a supportive message of its own.
We too would like to offer condolences to the Bratayley family. To lose a young child is an unfathomable tragedy; we can only hope the love offered by the Bratayleys’ community provides some measure of consolation.
