TikTok Star Dazharia Shaffer Dies by Suicide at 18

Dazharia Trenea Shaffer—known to her more than 1.4 million TikTok followers as “Dee” (username: dazhariaa)—captured hearts with her relatable videos, upbeat lip-syncs, and short vlogs. One of her most viewed clips, “Making my mom watch the old videos of her on drugs”, racked up over 685,000 YouTube views since its November 2020 premiere.

On February 8, 2021, Dazharia tragically took her own life in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, just days after her 18th birthday (June 4, 2002 – February 9, 2021). Coroner Shane Evans of the East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner’s Office confirmed a suicide death on February 9.

Her father, Raheem Alla—also known as Rodney Andry—shared the heartbreaking announcement via TikTok. He posted a montage of moments with his daughter accompanied by words of thanks for the outpouring of support, adding, “Unfortunately she is no longer with us and has gone to a better place.“

On a GoFundMe set up by the family, Raheem remembered her as his “little jelly bean” and urged others to address mental-health struggles before it’s too late. He wrote that Dee “was so happy … I only wish she would have spoken to me about her stress and the thoughts of suicide. We could work through this.”

Her mother, Jennifer Shaffer, took to Facebook expressing deep sorrow: “I wish I was waiting on you to say it was a prank but it’s not. I wishing [sic] could have died instead of u … rip my angel.” She lamented that people often talked about the rough times but rarely the joyful ones.

A poignant tribute came from her reported boyfriend (@finessekidmike), who shared a montage of their last day together alongside the message: “I still love you … So if we are meant to be, we will find each other again.”