Muudea Sedik (December 17, 2000 – February 13, 2024), known online as twomad, was a Canadian YouTuber and live streamer based in Los Angeles. Sedik created his main YouTube channel in 2017. He made gaming videos before becoming known as an Internet troll. Several clips of him became Internet memes, which allowed him to gain a following online. On February 13, 2024, Sedik was found deceased in his residence due to a morphine overdose.

twomad
Sedik in 2019 on the Cold Ones Podcast
Personal information
Born
Muudea Sedik

December 17, 2000
DiedFebruary 13, 2024 (aged 23)
Occupation
YouTube information
Channels
Years active2016–2024
Subscribers2.18 million (main channel)
2.12 million (second channel)
271 thousand (third channel)[1]
Total views300.5 million (main channel)
220.3 million (second channel)
15.7 million (third channel)[1]
100,000 subscribers2017
1,000,000 subscribers2020

Last updated: October 3, 2024

Life and Internet career

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Muudea Sedik was born on December 17, 2000,[2] in Canada to an Oromo Ethiopian family.[P 1]: 7:12[P 2]: 1:22 As a teenager, Sedik started gaining followers online after posting comedic videos of gameplay footage on YouTube and Reddit. When he was 16, Sedik dropped out of school and became a full-time YouTuber.[2][P 1]: 15:42–17:30 While he created his first YouTube channel in April 2016,[P 3] his main channel was created in August 2017.[P 4]

In 2019, a short clip of Sedik abruptly falling over became an Internet meme, eventually spreading to social media platforms such as Instagram and Twitter.[2] He began live streaming on Twitch early that same year, where he played video games. After being banned from the platform, Sedik would eventually start livestreaming on YouTube.[3][4]

In the following years, Sedik became known as an Internet troll, gaining a reputation for being "outlandish" and having "awkward online encounters". The website Passionfru.it stated he was known for his cringe comedy, calling his content "a fever dream made for teenagers".[3][5]

Sedik garnered further attention during the COVID-19 pandemic. In April 2020, Sedik partook in the act of "zoombombing", which he would livestream, helping him further gain popularity.[5] One of the resulting videos became his most popular video on his YouTube channel, resulting in BBC News showing clips from it in a report on zoombombing.[2][4] Passionfru.it credited him with popularizing the trend.[3] In 2020, Sedik's YouTube channel rose from 960,000 to 2.2 million subscribers, and he had over 844,000 followers on Twitter.[2][6][7] In 2022, he did a suggestive cosplay photoshoot with Internet personality Belle Delphine.[3][8]

In 2019, Sedik was criticized by K-pop fans and accused of racism after portraying BTS member Jimin in a video by wearing whiteface and a blonde wig. In 2021, Sedik attended a BTS concert wearing an Asian conical hat while holding an edited photograph blending the faces of BTS member V and communist leader Mao Zedong, joking that it depicted his father.[7][9] In 2023, Sedik received more criticism after posting a photo of Brianna Ghey, a recently murdered transgender teenager at the time, stating she was his "girlfriend".[2][3]

Death and controversies

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On February 13, 2024, the Los Angeles Police Department performed a welfare check on Sedik after he had been uncommunicative for several days. Sedik was found dead in his residence at the age of 23. Authorities discovered drug paraphernalia at the scene.[10][11] In August, the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner found the cause of death to be morphine toxicity, with mitragynine use being another significant factor.[12]

Shortly after TMZ reported the incident, YouTuber Jameskii publicly accused Sedik of criminal behavior such as rape and pedophilia, also claiming Sedik had made multiple attempts on his life due to his cooperation with law enforcement in investigations against Sedik.[4] The Manila Bulletin described Sedik's legacy as contentious and polarized, with some choosing to recognize his death as "the loss of a meme icon".[2] At the time of his death, his YouTube channel had accumulated 156 videos and garnered over 200 million views.[4]

An obituary in the Manila Bulletin stated multiple people have accused Sedik of harassment. YouTuber Goldibell accused him of repeated sexual assault and harassment and shared alleged screenshots of inappropriate messages she had received from him.[2] Goldibell also accused him of stalking her after they cut ties, to which Sedik denied.[10]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "About @twomad". YouTube.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Eulalia, Poch (February 20, 2024). "The tragic downfall of Twomad". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e Asarch, Steven (July 25, 2023). "New Court Documents Detail Abuse Allegations Against YouTube Prankster Twomad". Passionfru.it. Archived from the original on February 19, 2024. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d "Who is YouTuber Twomad, found dead in his Los Angeles home?". The Indian Express. February 17, 2024. Archived from the original on March 15, 2024. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  5. ^ a b Friedberg, Brian (2020). "SPACE INVADERS: THE NETWORKED TERRAIN OF ZOOM BOMBING" (PDF). Technology and Social Change: 4. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 20, 2024. Retrieved February 18, 2024.
  6. ^ Weiss, Geoff (April 16, 2020). "A Lot Of YouTube Creators Just Disclosed Their Declining AdSense Rates Amid The Coronavirus Pandemic. Most Are Down At Least 20%, With A Few Bright Spots". Tubefilter. Archived from the original on May 29, 2023. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  7. ^ a b Oh, Won-Seok (December 6, 2021). "BTS와 마오쩌둥 합성한 사진 들고 콘서트 인증한 유튜버" [Certification of BTS concert with ‘Mao Zedong BTS composite’ photo… Racism is loud]. Joongang Ilbo (in Korean). Archived from the original on February 23, 2024. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
  8. ^ Chung, Gabrielle (February 15, 2024). "YouTuber Twomad Dead at 23". E! Online. Archived from the original on March 18, 2024. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  9. ^ Jeon, Hyeong-ju (December 13, 2021). "美 유명 유튜버, BTS 정국+中마오쩌둥 합성사진 들고 '내 아빠'" [Famous American YouTuber holds a composite photo of BTS's Jungkook and China's Mao Zedong and says, 'My dad']. Maeil Business Newspaper (in Korean). Archived from the original on February 23, 2024. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
  10. ^ a b Ganz, Jami (February 14, 2024). "YouTuber Twomad found dead at 23 of suspected overdose". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on February 15, 2024. Retrieved February 15, 2024.
  11. ^ "YouTuber Twomad Dead at Age 23". Inside Edition. February 16, 2024. Archived from the original on March 10, 2024. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  12. ^ Ganz, Jami (August 23, 2024). "Cause of death revealed for 23-year-old YouTuber Twomad". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on August 23, 2024. Retrieved August 26, 2024.

Primary sources

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  1. ^ a b Twomad Goes To Bed (Podcast). Cold Ones. November 25, 2019. Archived from the original on February 19, 2024. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  2. ^ Sedik, Muudea (January 7, 2022). Soo I googled myself… (Video). twomad. Archived from the original on February 17, 2024. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  3. ^ "twomad 360 - YouTube". YouTube. Archived from the original on March 19, 2024. Retrieved March 19, 2024.
  4. ^ "twomad - YouTube". YouTube. Archived from the original on March 18, 2024. Retrieved March 18, 2024.
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