Pop Culture

Kevin Samuels’ Cause of Death Was Reportedly Hypertension

The oft-criticized social media personality and advice guru was reported to have died back in May, spurring speculation as to the cause of his death.

Kevin Samuels reportedly dead at 57
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The Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office has announced its findings regarding the death of Kevin Samuels, the controversial social media personality who died in May at the age of 57.

Per a report from TMZ, the office said Samuels’ death was “a result of hypertension,” with the death having been classified as one of natural causes. Notably mentioned in the TMZ report is Atenolol, a beta-blocker that is often prescribed for those with hypertension.

This development should put to rest any further speculation regarding his passing having been in any way suspicious. As previously reported, Samuels was with an unknown woman at the time of his death in May.

Complex has reached out to the Fulton County Medical Examiner’s Office for additional comment.

Word of Samuels’ death first started to spread across social media in May, with the influencer’s mother later revealing this was how she learned of her son’s passing.

“That was a terrible thing for social media to put that out,” she told NBC News at the time. “I didn’t even know.”

Shortly after Samuels’ death, he was featured in an anthology episode of Donald Glover’s Atlanta, playing the “businessman/philanthropist/philosopher/Christian” Robert “Shea” Lee. The episode in question—titled “Rich Wigga, Poor Wigga”—inspired much discussion on Twitter and beyond and was one of several surprise cameo moments from the show’s acclaimed third season.

Meanwhile, a purported funeral expenses-focused GoFundMe page was previously criticized by Samuels’ family as having been started by “an impostor.” When reached for comment by Complex, a rep for the fundraising platform confirmed they had been in touch with the family about the disputed account.

“As such, our Trust & Safety team is proactively monitoring the platform for fundraisers created on the family’s behalf, and will remove fundraisers started without family consent,” the GoFundMe rep told Complex at the time. “To note, we often see fundraisers started in response to news like this by friends, neighbors, and even strangers with good intentions, as people want to help. Our goal is to always protect donors.”

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