20 Viral Videos With The DARKEST Backstories

#20: My Shayla

It’s been used by thousands to show off their pets or make humorous jokes — but the origin behind this audio is anything but heartwarming. The “My Shayla” clip originated from a 2017 video made by actor and singer Tyrese Gibson, who’d been embroiled in a nearly decade-long custody battle with his ex-wife, Norma Mitchell. In it, he begged her to let him see their daughter, Shayla, and denounced accusations she made that he’d been abusive towards her. The emotional plea showed him at his lowest point. He was awarded 50/50 custody later on that year, but that didn’t cause it to fade from the public eye. It serves as a perfect example of how even one’s most vulnerable moments can be twisted into a meme.

#19: Woman Looks a Reporter Up & Down

When you see a two-second long GIF, you’re unlikely to look into where it came from. Even the shortest clips can have bleak backstories, and nothing exemplifies this more than a video of a woman turning around and giving the camera person a disgusted look. In its isolated form, it merely looks like a sassy reaction— but when you look at the context surrounding it, it suddenly becomes much darker. The woman in question had been at a protest following the horrific 2017 Grenfell Tower fire in West London, where citizens expressed that not enough had been done to protect the people who lived and tragically perished there. A journalist then asked her why everyone was so angry, which prompted her now-viral, wordless response.

#18: Leave Britney Alone

In 2007, her plea took the world by storm for all the wrong reasons. That year, Cara Cunningham created “Leave Britney Alone”, where she tearfully lambasted the media for their mistreatment of pop star Britney Spears. It came in the wake of Spears’ public meltdown, where she was vilified in the news and tabloids. At the time, Cunningham and her defense were treated as a joke. Few realized that Spears was coping with personal struggles and constant bombardment from the paparazzi, or that the tumultuous era resulted in her essentially losing her freedom for over a decade. Rewatching Cunningham’s video with that context in mind makes it clear just how right she’d been— and how the callous reaction to it proved her point further.

#17: Zombie Boy

Throughout the 2010s, his permanent skeletal appearance helped him gain widespread notoriety. Rick Genest— known online as Zombie Boy— achieved worldwide attention thanks to music videos and viral makeup ads, the latter of which culminated in a modeling deal. What people weren’t aware of at the time was the catalyst behind his appearance. He’d been diagnosed with a brain tumor at 14 and learned that treatment could leave him permanently disfigured. Although it went smoothly, it inspired him to begin his transformation into Zombie Boy. Before long, over 90% of his body was tattooed, and his rise to fame began. That trajectory was halted by his tragic passing in 2018, but his likeness lives on today in the art that sparked his career.

#16: Tamera Mowry is OK

In 2018, her return to the daytime show “The Real” resulted in her going viral. When Tamera Mowry was asked how she was doing, her response was quickly clipped and reposted all over the Internet. The shortened version’s popularity soon caused the reason behind her reaction to be obscured. It was Mowry’s first episode back following the death of her niece in the tragic Thousand Oaks shooting, which had occurred less than a month beforehand. She was still grieving the loss, and being asked if she was okay triggered an understandable emotional reaction. Unfortunately, that was completely lost as the meme gained traction online. The virality overshadowed her grief and her broader point about gun violence in the United States.

#15: Logan Paul’s Forest Video

In 2017, the popular YouTuber faced mass backlash after posting a video showing a man who’d seemingly taken his own life in Japan. Logan Paul’s reaction and his choice to use it for content took center stage, leading to him being called out by Internet users and prominent celebrities alike. What fell to the wayside was the somber backstory of the site where the death had taken place. Since the 1960s, Aokigahara has gained an unfortunate reputation for people taking their own lives. The forest has been the final resting place for hundreds, and some of the trees still bear evidence of those tragic deaths. Rather than raise awareness, Paul sensationalized the morbid location and those that died there, all while omitting its chilling history.

#14: Happy Anniversary!

Even without the chilling backstory to go with it, this seemed designed to cause nightmares. The video, posted by YouTuber 112dirtbag, showed an older man sitting in a dark room and laughing at his camera. The unsettling scene stuck with viewers, who looked more into him. It was found that he’d originally uploaded the footage on February 9th 2012, approximately 8 years after Maura Murray vanished from the scene of a car accident. She hadn’t been seen since, and his post made it seem as though he’d been involved. His YouTube username seemingly being a reference to a comment Murray’s father made raised suspicions further. Although authorities said he was merely an Internet troll, it serves as a bleak reminder of her still-unsolved disappearance.

#13: Shoenice22

On the surface, he may just seem like someone willing to do anything for views. However, the reality behind Shoenice22’s videos was much darker than it appeared. He gained popularity throughout the early 2010s, with viewers checking in to see what alcohol he’d be chugging or what household item he’d be eating. They helped him reach viral notoriety, but they soon took a turn for the worse. In 2017, his son came forward alleging that his father had been neglecting and mistreating him. He also revealed that his dad struggled with drinking, and that the surge in fame made it worse. He even expressed regret over making the channel for him. The added context painted his old challenges in a new light, making them sadder in hindsight.

#12: Final Footage of Timmothy Pitzen

Upon first glance, it seems like standard footage of a mother and son. No one had any clue that it was the last time Timmothy Pitzen would be seen. He and his mom Amy entered an Illinois motel on May 13, 2011– but they never walked out. Amy’s body was found with self-inflicted injuries, but Timmothy was nowhere to be found. All that remained was a note stating that he was safe, but would never be found. The surveillance video was the only proof he was there, showing the final moments of his life before it was changed forever. The footage from that day went viral as authorities continued to search for him. To this day, he has yet to be found.

#11: Grape Lady Falls

What started out as an innocent news segment led to a viral video that still circulates to this day. The clip, filmed in 1998, shows reporter Melissa Sander stomping on grapes before suddenly falling out. Her subsequent scream became the standout moment, which has been parodied by fellow Internet users and mainstream shows alike. It’s amassed millions of views and is viewed by many as a staple in Internet culture. However, its popularity has caused the seriousness of the situation to be overlooked. Sander broke multiple ribs as a result of the fall and was hospitalized for weeks. She even switched to a different news station shortly afterwards, leading some to believe that the incident may have caused more than just physical consequences.

#10: Star Wars Kid

It’s been said that the Internet is forever. Nobody understands that better than Ghyslain Raza, who’s better known online as “Star Wars Kid”. In 2002, he made a video of himself imitating a light saber fight from “Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace”, using a golf ball retriever, only for it to be found by a classmate spread without his knowledge. It ended up online in 2003, catapulting him to viral fame. Unfortunately, with that attention came widespread mocking, from strangers online sending him hateful messages to his likeness being parodied in “South Park”. The harassment occurred in real life as well, which caused him to withdraw from physical school for online classes and lose friends. Though he’s accepted it, for years, the clip haunted him and negatively impacted his life.

#9: Ain’t Nobody Got Time For That

Make anything sound funny enough, and people will somehow miss the tragedy surrounding it. That was the case for Kimberly "Sweet Brown" Wilkins whose incredibly quotable 2012 interview following an apartment fire led to viral attention and an iconic parody that garnered tens of millions of views of its own. The TV spot and the subsequent content about it was so beloved that the reason she’d been interviewed in the first place was overlooked. She had been the survivor of an intense three-alarm fire, which destroyed five apartments, hospitalized a tenant, and left the entire building without electricity. Wilkins even recounted developing bronchitis as a result of the smoke damage, which quickly became memeified along with the rest of the incident.

#8: Damien Slaughter’s Breakdown

Feeding the trolls can have disastrous consequences. As a child, Damien Slaughter made a video responding to the hate he’d received from countless users. The 2009 upload showed his own tearful reaction, while his father yelled in the background. It quickly went viral, leading to his dads’ rant being quoted and Slaughter being doxxed. While the hate campaign was bad enough, what made it even worse was that it was in response to accusations that Slaughter had been groomed by Dahvie Vanity of Blood on the Dance Floor. In the years since, at least 21 women came forward with their own allegations. His experience showed the dark underbelly of Internet fame and how harmful the web could be.

#7: Reckful’s Last Stream

It can be impossible to tell which goodbye will be the last. That was the case for fans of Byron Daniel Bernstein, a popular Twitch streamer known as “Reckful.” In July of 2020, Bernstein said goodbye to his fans and encouraged them to find community with one another. None of his viewers had any idea they had just seen some of his final moments. He took his own life shortly afterwards. Bernstein had struggled with his mental health and online hate prior to his death. His final farewell was reposted on YouTube following his passing, where it gained millions of views. Though it looks like a normal send-off out of context, viewing it with the knowledge of what came next paints it in a much darker light.

#6: Catch Me Outside

When Danielle Bregoi — better known as Bhad Bhabie — appeared on “Dr. Phil”, in 2016 her animosity towards the audience helped her achieve immediate worldwide fame. The episode itself painted her as a troubled juvenile delinquent, and her viral catchphrase didn’t help with that perception. Years later, Bregoli opened up about her troubling childhood. She accused her mother of allowing her boyfriends to harm her, and claimed that they constantly fought. She also revealed that her appearance on Dr. Phil’s show led to her being sent to Turn-About Ranch, where she witnessed and underwent abuse from staff members. With that in mind, her iconic quote suddenly seems less like a threat, and more like a child acting out as a cry for help.

#5: Hide Your Kids, Hide Your Wife

Sweet Brown isn’t the only person whose had an upsetting experience morph into sudden fame. In 2010, Huntsville, Alabama resident Antoine Dodson gave an interview alleging that his sister had been attacked by a home intruder. It quickly went viral due to his tone and humorous way of explaining the situation and confronting the accused perpetrator, which soon snowballed into an equally-popular musical remix and sponsorship opportunities for Dodson. He reaped the benefits of Internet popularity, and his sister Kelly and her traumatic experience were sidelined as a result. The comedic interview and subsequent song made it easy for some to forget that she’d been assaulted in her own bed, and that she likely would’ve suffered a worse fate had Antoine not stepped in.

#4: Jamel Dunn’s Drowning

In 2017, a video circulated of a group of teenagers standing at the edge of a body of water and viciously mocking a man crying out for help. At the time, viewers didn’t realize they had watched someone’s final moments alive. Several days later, the man who’d been filmed, Jamel Dunn, was found deceased. The clip was uncovered shortly after his body was recovered, and it was broadcast worldwide. It revealed that not a single one of the teens had called for help or told someone about the situation, leading to his tragic passing. While the original wasn’t funny in the first place, watching it back with this knowledge makes it all the more horrific.

#3: Kai the Hitchhiker

In 2013, he came to national attention after he stepped in to stop an alleged predator from attacking a woman. Kai the Hitchhiker’s chaotic recounting of the incident— including the perpetrator’ supposed crimes and his use of a hatchet to stop him— quickly went viral. Unfortunately, the humorous footage obscured the fact that Kai was a troubled person himself. Months later, he was arrested following the death of Joseph Galfy. Kai claimed that he’d taken Galfy’s life in self-defense. A lack of evidence supporting this led to him being sentenced to nearly 60 years behind bars. Although he maintained his innocence, both his widespread interview and similar incidents revealed a violent side to the hitchhiker that made some question his side of the story.

#2: Elisa Lam

When the Los Angeles Police Department first released surveillance footage of her in February of 2011, they had no clue as to the reaction it would receive. It showed Elisa Lam standing in an elevator at the Stay on Main hotel and acting erratically. The video quickly went viral, with viewers speculating about her odd behavior. What was even more unsettling than the content itself was the backstory to it. Lam had been missing for several days by the time it was posted, and the footage exacerbated the theories surrounding her disappearance. Even darker than that was the fact that the clip documented her final known moments alive, with her body being discovered in the hotel’s water tank just under a week later.

#1: Ronnie McNutt’s Livestream

If someone were to come across reuploaded clips from this livestream, they might not see anything out of the ordinary. It showed Ronnie McNutt filming himself and ignoring his phone as notifications rolled in. The republished version ends with him reaching for something off screen. Unfortunately, that’s not how the livestream actually ended. Instead, his viewers watched as he suddenly took his own life. He’d struggled with his mental health prior to the live, but no one expected that outcome. The uncensored version went viral, masked as innocent content before cutting to the moment of his death. His tragic passing being used to stoke fear online made it even more disturbing, and showed that some weren’t above exploiting one’s death for a sick prank.

Which of these viral videos’ backstories shocked you the most? Let us know in the comments below!