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Ronnie McNutt suicide: Death video memes and jokes flood Internet, people slam disgusting trend

The distressing footage went viral on social media and appeared on TikTok's 'For You' trending homepage

TikTok star and an Army veteran who served in Iraq, Ronnie McNutt, shocked the internet when he took his own life and live-streamed the incident on Facebook while he sat at a desk at his house in Mississippi on August 31, 2020. While most people on the internet were appalled by the incident and came forward to share their condolences on the incident, others deliberately made his suicide video go viral online, even creating memes out of it.

The disturbing video, which many users have warned others not to click on after watching it themselves, contained a thumbnail that shows a bearded man with glasses speaking to someone on the phone. The distressing footage went viral on the social media platform and appeared on TikTok's 'For You' trending homepage, which made it harder to avoid. Some of the users turned the footage in which McNutt shoots himself in the head into a meme, which drew a ton of reactions from disgusted social media users.

Here are some of the reactions: 

"This is fucking disgusting. Ronnie mcnutt shot himself dead on live & people are making it into a meme or saying ‘I didnt even flinch’. Wake tf up, he's dead. You're not quirky because it didn't upset you."

"I haven’t seen the video on tiktok of Ronnie McNutt, but I’ve seen the horrid responses. As someone who almost committed once, it’s disrespectful and disgusting and horrifying to see people saying they want to see it or making memes of it."

"Why is the FB live of the man shooting himself in the head still up? And why are people laughing and making memes of it? I cannot imagine the unbearable pain this man felt leading up to the video. RIP Ronnie Mcnutt."

"Ayo to the people treating Ronnie Mcnutt like a meme, You need to get your little 12 year old brain checked out.. Suicide IS NOT a joke people!! Mental health matters!"

"It pisses me off to know ppl are making GENUINE memes about Ronnie and have the audacity to share the video around, like honestly tf, NOTE THIS IS A ACTUAL HUMAN WITH A FAMILY. Fly high Ronnie. #Ronnie #ronniemcnutt"

"Please for the love of god don’t look for Ronnie McNutt’s suicide video. I personally have seen it and I cannot get it out of my mind. The video is circulating around social media and hidden in other videos. It’s absolutely disgusting how people are using it as a meme :("

"Ronnie McNutt shot himself dead on live and people are laughing at him and making memes about it. he's f*****g dead. This man's death is not a joke, what the hell is wrong with you people. please sTOP SHARING THE VIDEO, IT IS TRAUMATIZING."

McNutt's friend, Josh Steen spoke about the video and the failure of social media platforms in removing it. In an interview with Heavy, Sheen shared details about the circumstances surrounding his friend’s public suicide and claimed that Facebook didn’t do enough to prevent McNutt’s death from being streamed online or to remove offensive graphic content about McNutt’s death in the days since.

“Facebook could’ve stopped this and didn’t,” he said. Steen also said according to him Facebook is “directly responsible” for the video being shared online and going viral. Steen said, “Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and other social platforms could ban accounts, IPs, and stop the spread of this video. YouTube can flag you for using two seconds of a copyrighted song, but can’t seem to filter out my friend ending his life. It does not make sense.”

If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, the toll-free National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can also speak with a trained crisis counselor 24/7 by texting HOME to 741741 to reach the Crisis Text Line.