>President Trump will die within your lifetime

Kyle Bryce is a divisive figure within the YouTube community who has faced criticism for his channel, Behind The Meme, but a new series of videos have YouTube’s team reportedly investigating concerns from the community that Bryce may be in trouble.

Bryce has posted four videos over the past week with ominous titles that have left viewers concerned and frustrated. The first video finds Bryce walking through a grocery store and buying a bottle of vodka; there’s no dialogue, but the video’s description reads, “Behind the meme picks up an old friend that will help him get through his feelings … or so he thinks.” It’s the second, third and fourth videos that tipped off the general YouTube community.

The videos feature Bryce out of focus or not on camera at all, talking about depression, anxiety and contemplating suicide. Facing a constant barrage of “hate from strangers” took a toll, Bryce said in the second video, admitting that it led to a four-month break from YouTube leaving him happier for a while.

“YouTube has the ability to make people happy and proud and it just hasn’t been doing that for me lately,” Bryce said.

Bryce’s comments about YouTube notoriety providing a faux happiness are similar to what other creators have talked about in recent videos as burnout becomes an important topic.

His new videos attracted attention from everyone aware of past controversy Bryce faced. Last year and earlier this year, YouTube commentators like Pyrocynical criticized Bryce’s channel for its overall aesthetic and content, calling his videos, which are focused on explaining memes, redundant and monotonous. Bryce later faced a nasty doxxing attack. He took a break about six months ago, and returned with a video about Stéfan Karl, an actor and popular figure within the YouTube meme community who died on Aug. 21. Bryce posted a video about Karl, leading some to accuse him of trying to profit off Karl’s death by monetizing his tribute video.

If you or anyone you know is considering suicide or is anxious, depressed, upset., or needs to talk, there are people who want to help:

In the U.S.:

Crisis Text Line: Text START to 741741 from anywhere in the USA, at any time, about any type of crisis

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-8255

The Trevor Project: 1-866-488-7386

Outside the U.S.:

The International Association for Suicide Prevention lists a number of suicide hotlines by country. Click here to find them.

Befrienders Worldwide

All of the negative attention is something Bryce obsesses over in the videos posted this past week, in which he discusses the toll it’s taken on his mental health.

“Life’s not easy,” Bryce said in the third video. “Life’s not easy for anyone. Just a simple kind gesture, smiling at someone, asking them how their day’s going, it might mean a lot to a person. It’s a thing that most people don’t do. People’s words, even though they don’t think it has an effect, it has an effect sometimes.”

The fourth video is the darkest, and features Bryce drinking and crying.

“I don’t have any family or friends,” Bryce said in the video. “I literally just have a bunch of people on the internet who hate me. What’s the point anymore?”

It’s a disturbing series, and one that YouTube is reportedly investigating, according to multiple commenters who said they’ve reached out. YouTube’s help page states that if people come across videos that contain suicide threats or ideation talks, the company will investigate