TikTok star Wayne Duplock, famously known as "Big Chubby," died on Wednesday, November 24. The 38-year-old’s mother and his partner announced his death on his TikTok page via a video. Duplock was a British man from Leicester, England. 

He began making TikTok videos in 2020 and his popular videos attracted 16.6 million likes. A total of 618,000 people follow his page, where he used to share comedic videos featuring himself and his family. Duplock also has an Instagram under the name @big.chubby.family, where he posted pictures and videos documenting his life. The Instagram account has over 20k followers.

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How did TikTok star Big Chubby die?

Duplock’s mother and his partner used Wayne's page to disclose on Friday, November 26, that he had died on Wednesday morning. The cause of his death was reportedly Covid-19, complicated by a developing pneumonia. After getting the infection, he was admitted to a hospital in early November from where he had been sharing his journey on his TikTok and Instagram.

He received treatment for around 22 days before breathing his last on November 24. His partner said in the TikTok video, “Hi, it’s taken us a long time to do this video, but from myself and from Wayne’s mum, we want to inform you that Big Chubby has passed away. It’s still very emotional for all of us at the moment and we want privacy and respect at this moment while we all grieve.”

Later, the social media star’s devastated mother said that they’ll close Duplock’s TikTok account. She added, “I’d like to thank around 80% of you for being there for him and everything you’ve done for him. You never knew the truth. Wayne was struggling, Wayne was in pain. He loved you all because you made him happy for those last few weeks and months of his life. Please respect my son now and let him rest in peace.”

Duplock’s last post on Instagram was a photo of him in the hospital. He wrote in the caption, “Day 20 and still in hospital. But moving to another room tonight so a change of scenery will be good.” The comment section of that post is now filled with tributes. A person said, “Rest easy old mate, you will be missed, RIP.” Another one wrote, “Rest easy, thank you for all the laughs.”

Meanwhile, tributes and condolences have been pouring in for the family during this difficult time on Twitter as well. A user tweeted, “That’s what covid does it’s horrendous. I was in hospital with it and two days before I was admitted I felt right as rain. Heartbreaking that this happened so someone who just cared about Bringing positivity.” Another one said, “Battled so hard! His tiktoks from hospital really motivated alot of people. RIP.” “A fine man who recently helped raise money for gifts for a kids at a children’s hospital. Very sad, RIP,” the third one wrote.

A person said, “Sound bloke, shame the way his health took a turn for the worse when it was looking up. RIP.” Another user remarked, “Genuinely shocked. I've been following his health updates recently but never thought it'd take this turn. RIP.” “Rip big chubby fucking icon live it up good up there big man shoooby-dooo,” a tweet read.