Kevin Samuels dead: who was the controversial YouTuber, did he have a wife - what was said on Twitter?

Controversial YouTuber Kevin Samuels has passed away at the age of 56, with some outlets reporting that he died from a cardiac arrest, however this has not yet been confirmed by the medical examiner.

Following social media confusion around the news, his mother later confirmed that he had died.

This is what you need to know.

Who was Kevin Samuels?

Samuels was a highly controversial YouTuber and self proclaimed “relationship guru” who posted lifestyle videos online which were supposed to help guide viewers on how to improve their lives.

His YouTube channel currently has 1.43 million subscribers, with his most recent video streamed the day before the news of his death began to circulate online, titled “Modern Women Are A Party of 1”.

Samuels was repeatedly criticised for spreading “misogynistic” thoughts and beliefs on his channel, and for being especially derogatory towards women of colour.

While he has had an online presence for years, he went viral in December 2020 for his video titled “You’re Average At Best”, which racked up 2.7 million views on the platform.

In one of his videos from March 2021, Samuels said that “high-value men cheat” and that women should accept it because cheating is in their nature. Samuels would also repeatedly say in his videos that “high-value men” want “submissive” and “agreeable” women.

He sparked outrage recently when, a few weeks ago, he claimed that women who are over 35 years old and unmarried are “leftovers”. He said that there is “something likely wrong” with these women and that they “are what is left”.

He was not married, however, according to the Sun, Samuels had been married twice in the past but had since divorced from both relationships. The outlet also reported that Samuels had joint custody of a daughter he had with one of his ex-wives.

When did he die?

News of Samuels’ death was originally widely reported on Twitter, however a lack of official confirmation left many confused.

Samuels’ mother, Beverly Samuels-Burch, has since confirmed his death to NBC News after reportedly learning of her son’s passing on social media.

She said: “That was a terrible thing for social media to put that out. I didn’t even know. I hadn’t even been notified.

“All I’m doing is requesting that people pray for us.”

The Atlanta Police Department said that officers had been called to an apartment on Thursday (5 May) morning regarding a “person injured”. Upon arrival at the scene, officers found first responders performing CPR on an unresponsive man who was later identified as Samuels.

Police said that Samuels was taken to Piedmont Hospital, with the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Officer stating in a press release that an autopsy had been carried out, but the cause and manner of Samuels’ death are still pending.

The office listed Samuels' age as 53, although other outlets have reported his age as 56.

Revolt Black News had first reported that “reliable sources” had confirmed that the YouTuber passed away on Thursday 5 May and in a video with more than 105,000 views on Twitter, Melanie King, a friend of Samuels, stated that she received “family confirmation” that Samuels had died.

When asked if there was any way the news might not be true, King shook her head and said: “I have family confirmation. This is 100%. The funeral is most likely going to be in Oklahoma city.”

Reactions to his death

Reactions to the news of Samuels’ death online have been mixed, with some feeling that due to his actions in life, he doesn’t deserve to be remembered fondly.

One person wrote: “All I can say about Kevin Samuels is if you spend your time disrespecting people in life, don’t be surprised at people disrespecting you in death. No matter how cruel it may be, the legacy you leave behind will be known by the fruit you bore while you were here.”

Another tweeted: “Kevin Samuels made a career off of bashing women and upholding oppressive gender standards and y’all want us to take the high road when we find out he passed away.”

“Kevin Samuels was a menace. Nothing about his ideals actually made sense. His audience is made up of men that are so fragile in their masculinity that they think it’s a personality trait to degrade women… we’re not celebrating his death we’re just not mourning it,” wrote another.

Journalist Ernest Owens wrote: “Kevin Samuels has made a career off of shamelessly disgracing Black women for profit. He emboldened the most toxic individuals to project tired and harmful narratives about Black women. Dead or alive, what a disgraceful life to live. That’s all I’ve got for the misogynist.”

Others, however, have said that it’s unnecessary to celebrate anyone’s death, regardless of if you agreed or disagreed with their views.

One person tweeted: “Regardless of if this Kevin Samuels news is true or not, you gotta be an evil MF to cheer for someone’s death because you don’t like some of the things they’ve said.”

Another wrote: “I open Twitter to see a bunch of fat, broke, sad n****s/b**ches celebrating Kevin Sameuls death??? Never watched the man, but the fact that that man’s opinions hurt y’all that bad is crazy to me. He was a whole father. Condolences to his fam.”

“You a sick individual to celebrate someone passing R.I.P Kevin Samuels,” wrote another.