Israeli TikTok star Idan Ohayon, who became famous for mocking his own obesity on camera, has died unexpectedly at 28.
Ohayon, who boasted over 140,000 followers and 2 million likes on the platform, reportedly passed away Wednesday night at Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon, local news outlet Ynetnews.com reported. The social media star’s family confirmed that he died of a medical issue but did not elaborate.
Ohayon became an instant sensation after posting videos of himself eating food and lampooning his own weight.
“One day, I decided to return to social media, so I uploaded a video on TikTok,” Ohayon said several months ago while describing his meteoric rise to social media stardom. “Suddenly, I reached 300,000 views in 24 hours, so I posted another video and another one, and views kept coming.”
The unabashed foodie, who also had 52,000 Instagram followers, added, “I returned to my old life and gained a lot of followers and it was cool. People even recognized me when I was walking on the street and asked for selfies.”
The Israeli influencer gained further recognition several months ago after getting cast on a documentary series named “The Creatoks,” where he vied with other social media stars for for the title of best content creator in Israel.
In his final post on Monday, which amassed 1.4 million views, Ohayon was seen eating a hearty Ethiopian meat dish called Doro Wat.
His legions of adoring fans were devastated over his loss and took the comments sections of TikTok and Instagram to pay tribute to the late social media star.
“My heart is torn to pieces, such a young man,” wrote one crestfallen fan. “May his memory be blessed.”
Another said, “I’ve known you since you started with the network, I’ll miss you dear friend.”
Ohayon’s funeral was held Wednesday in the Israeli city of Kiryat Gat.