A Filipino YouTuber, Keith Talens, was about to surprise his dad for Father’s Day when he received a shock of his own—his “dade” passed away.
Talens devised a plan to prank his father by pretending to be his own fan to give a gift. To the vlogger’s surprise, he received the news from his stepmother that his dad died from cardiac arrest, as per a YouTube vlog on Saturday, June 15.
The video started out with Talens and his family talking about the agenda of the surprise while heading home. As it reached its sixth-minute mark, the vlog abruptly shifted its tone, with him crying over his father’s dead body.
Several viewers were sympathetic to his father’s death, giving their condolences.
“While watching Keith Talens “Fathers day [surprise]” video on youtube I can’t help to (sic) stop my tears from streaming down,” Twitter user @Cacaydelatorre said on the same day. “Imagine you drove a very long drive just to surprise your dad on [Father’s] day but [you’re] the one who was [surprised] to see your dad lying on a hospital bed lifeless.”
While watching keith talens "Fathers day suprise" video on youtube I can't help to stop my tears from streaming down. Imagine you drove a very long drive just to surprise your dad on fathers day but u're the one who was suprise to see your dad lying on a hospital bed lifeless.
— Caryl Dela Torre (@Cacaydelatorre) June 15, 2019
“The fact that we tried to [surprise] the people we love and we are the [ones] who got surprised because they are already gone is the most painful thing that will happen,” a netizen going by the handle @Shaiynaaaaa said, on the day the vlog was posted.
just watched keith talens new vlog and that hurts a lot, bigtime. the fact that we tried to suprise the people we love and we are the one who got surprised because they are already gone is the most painful thing that will happen and just happened. 💔
— 𝙴𝚔𝚊 (@Shaiynaaaaa) June 15, 2019
Some questioned Talens’ motives for sharing his father’s death online. One netizen with the handle @gabrant001 criticized Talens with a question: “Is the death of your father really necessary for you to make it a content of your vlog and post it in social media?”
There is this vlogger Keith Talens who had just lost his father and I understand how heartbreaking it was (i lost mine too). But is the death of your father really necessary for you to make it a content of your vlog and post it in social media?
— Ping Guerrero ❌ (@gabrant001) June 16, 2019
Twitter user @biancxmillel confessed that she was on a verge of a panic attack when she saw Talens’ video, saying, “The amount of clout you would want to chase to actually f*cking put footage of your dad’s lifeless body on YouTube, and MONETIZE IT!!!!”
As of writing, the vlogger has disabled the comments section of his video, which gained over four million views. He also released a follow-up vlog explaining how he learned of his father’s death and his visit to the hospital. NVG
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