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How did Corey La Barrie die? Tayler Holder slammed for 'copying' his brand design: 'Disrespectful and f**ked up’

Critics have alleged that the TikToker stole the name and design of the deceased YouTuber’s brand for his own upcoming line of merchandise

YouTube sensation Corey La Barrie died on May 10, 2020, on his 25th birthday after being involved in a car crash with a drunk driver, a lawyer for the La Barrie family reportedly confirmed. The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner reportedly told CNN that the crash had taken place at the corner of Huston Street and Carpenter Avenue in North Hollywood around 9.39 pm local time.

The Los Angeles Police Department did not confirm the identity of the driver but issued a separate release regarding the arrest of Daniel Joseph Silva, 27, "for murder" after a "DUI Fatal Traffic Collision" at the same time and location. “The Los Angeles Police Department's Valley Traffic Division announced the arrest of Daniel Joseph Silva, a 27-year-old driver and resident of Los Angeles for murder,” the statement read.

Though it is speculated that Silva was the driver of the car that met the accident leading to the death of Corey, LAPD has not confirmed it yet. LAPD’s statement told about the driver Silva, “The driver of the McLaren exited the vehicle and attempted to leave the scene but was stopped by citizens who came to render aid. No other vehicles were involved in the collision. The Los Angeles Fire Department responded to the scene and transported both parties involved in the collision to a local hospital for medical treatment. The identity of the passenger is being withheld pending notification of next of kin.” LAPD officials stated after the accident that Silva, and a passenger were taken to a hospital, where the passenger, a 25-year-old male, died. This passenger is speculated to be Corey, but nothing is confirmed yet.

As per CNN, lawyer Kraut identified Silva, who he mentioned as victim Corey's "close friend", and as the driver of the vehicle that led to the fatal car crash. He referred to the incident as "beyond reckless", and said that Silva should be "held fully accountable in the legal system for his actions". Silva is being held on a $200,000 bond, as per Los Angeles County jail records. Silva is a popular tattoo artist who has also featured in the television series 'Ink Master,' and was purportedly driving a 2020 McLaren 600LT at "a high rate of speed" when he lost control that led to a crash.

After the news of Corey’s fatal death dropped, another news pertaining to the deceased YouTuber started doing the rounds. TikTok sensation Tayler Holder was accused of stealing a design and name from late Corey’s clothing line, Under-Appreciated. Critics have alleged that Tayler stole the name and design Corey’s brand for his own upcoming line of merchandise. The accusations of stealing brand name and design came after Tayler posted a poster of his own brand in his Instagram story.

In that poster, the slogan reads “Under-Appreciated” with the letters “n-d-e” crossed out, so that it reads “U R Appreciated” which is somewhat similar to Corey’s brand name. The logo depicts a pair of angel wings above the slogan — a design that Tayler has also tattooed on his forearm. After promoting his upcoming clothing line on his Instagram stories, Tayler was met with a wave of criticism. However, Tayler stated that he partnered up with Corey’s family to produce the upcoming merchandise, contrary to critics’ initial accusations. “Corey has been a very, very good friend of mine for a few years now,” he said. “I always thought the message behind the ‘Under-Appreciated / U R Appreciated’ was so, so powerful. With him passing away, I wanted to carry that on.”

Tayler reportedly claimed that he would be donating a percentage of the line’s profits to Corey’s foundation. He added that the merch also includes all of the tattoos on his own forearm — not just Corey’s U R Appreciated logo. “I want to make it clear that this is very meaningful to me, and I partnered with Corey and his family,” he continued. “I would never, ever just take something like this and make it my own.” However, Corey’s mother reportedly showed that she was unaware of her family’s supposed partnership with Tayler for the merchandise line. In no time, people started to slam Tayler for stealing Corey’s brand name and design despite his explanations.

A user wrote, “Corey LaBarrie passed away recently this year and he had a brand 'under appreciated' and when he passed his friends made 'U R appreciated' merch and tayler stole it.” Another enraged alleged that Tayler could be profiteering from Corey’s brand and said, “None of them knew. Corey's friends and family didn’t know. Tayler holder is a piece of trash of a human trying to profit off someone’s ENTIRE brand. He lied to try and save his a*s but he clearly just looks like an a** after this.”

Another concurred, “So let me get this straight. Tayler Holder is profiting off of merchandise he made using Corey La Barrie’s trademarked 'Under-Appreciated' and 3 hours after getting called out he says he’s donating portions and working with his family. His mom denied and Corey's friends have spoken out.” An infuriated user bashed Tayler, “Tayler Holder didn’t ‘Partner Up’ with nobody. He literally stole Corey’s whole idea/concept and is trying to receive a check doing so. So disrespectful and f**kd up.”

However, Tayler has now confirmed the family’s involvement with the brand in a short video that he tweeted on October 30 after the backlash from Corey’s fans. In the video, Taylor sat with Corey’s brother Jared and his dad Simon, and said, “There seems to be a lot of confusion that got out of hand.” He apologized for inadvertently hurting the feelings of fans,“First up I just want to say that from the bottom of my heart I’m so sorry for anyone that I affected with this and upset it was by far never my intentions with this.” He continued, “Corey is a very very close friend of mine. He’s like family to me. We were teaming up on this, it was a thing that me, and Jared, and Simon had been talking about for the past few months”