[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
What an awful bit of news…
Coconut Kitty, aka Diana Deets, has died by suicide, according to a post on her Instagram account over the weekend. The post began:
“Last Sunday, Coconut took her own life. It’s unfair. Life isn’t fair.”
Truly awful.
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If you weren’t a fan of the OnlyFans star, you may only know of her through her “pedo-baiting” controversy. Back in 2021, Rolling Stone did a profile on the content creator, who considered herself an artist who had used digital art to create a “character.” She told the magazine:
“I wanted to make something that looked like a real-life anime character — small chin, big eyes — that was made in my likeness, because I use a picture of myself and I edit it.”
In the pics she shared online as “Coconut Kitty”, she used facetuning to transform herself into this “anime character.” But just as anime itself is often criticized for making adult women look childlike — or putting schoolgirls into adult situations — the result was that Deets appeared younger. Much younger. Her actual age is unknown for sure, but estimates put her somewhere in her 20s. She reportedly had been saying she was 24 since at least 2021. But we aren’t talking about removing crow’s feet or smile lines. This was transforming her face cartoonishly young — basically giving herself the face of a child, while still taking photos in which she showed off her body in explicit, NSFW outfits and poses. She explained:
“I just wanted to create a fantasy, just a character. And I was able to hide my identity and still make money off my art.”
But a fantasy for whom? She was the center of a firestorm of controversy as critics claimed she was intentionally trying to appeal to pedophiles, who could look at the face of a child on an adult woman. Instead of sexualizing a child, she was accused of childizing her sexuality.
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The influencer was also a mother of at least two children. The announcement of her passing spent quite a lot of time trying to pull back the curtain and express who the real woman was behind the cartoon face:
“We wish you guys could get to know her the way her friends and family did. She was such a light to this world, truly, she was always glowing. You could never slow that girl down. She was so hard headed and strong, but also just so kind. With the biggest heart we have ever known. She was always trying to lift everyone up around her, she wanted everyone to win. She always took in animals that needed a home. She was the type of person who would drop everything to help you with your problems and would always be in your corner.”
Touching on the reports she’d long suffered from depression, which may or may not have been related to her work, the post continued:
“She was always her true self with her family and friends. Her energy was so pure. And we wish so much that we could have taken some of the darkness that was weighing on her heart. She always felt so deeply, with her whole body, mind, and soul. She loved creating. She loved to make art and to express herself and we know a lot of you loved her too and she was always so grateful for you all.”
Some fans were confused as to whether this was a stunt killing the character, since it began by referring to “Coconut.” But Diana was the one with children, so the next part made it all too clear this was the real person who was gone:
“She was so strong for so long. She was amazing and just a beautiful person. We miss her so much and life is never going to be the same without her. She was a mom, a sister, a daughter, a best friend and a role model for so many of you. Above all she loved her kids and being a mom. Her kids were her whole world. She was devoted to them and she wanted to make sure that they were loved. And they were so loved.”
We’re so upset by the idea this woman’s children have been orphaned… The post, which included the number for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, concluded:
“All we ask is that you check on your friends and loved ones. You never truly know what someone is going through. Call them and tell them you love them. You never know how much time you’ll have left with the people you love. We love you forever Coconut, rest easy beautiful.”
Whether you think her business ideas were misguided or even despicable, there was a real person there who was hurting. And this is never the end anyone should have.
If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, help is available. Consider contacting the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988, by calling, texting, or chatting, or go to 988lifeline.org.
[Image via Coconut Kitty/Instagram.]
