Updated: June 11th, 2022
The TikTok community is mourning the loss of one of its young creators.
Cooper Noriega was found dead on June 9 in a Los Angeles mall parking lot. Just hours prior, Cooper posted a video of himself lying in bed with the words, “who else b thinking they gon die young af” across the clip.
The 19-year-old had amassed over 1.7 million followers sharing funny skits and lip-syncing videos. He was close friends with several of L.A.’s biggest TikTok influencers such as Nessa Barrett, Jaden Hossler, Bryce Hall, and Sabrina Quesada— whom he dated for over a year.
Cooper seemed passionate about mental health. On June 5th, he started a Discord server “meant for mental health only.”
“I have just created a Discord server strictly for mental health because [of] how much I love you guys and how much I struggle with it myself,” he said on TikTok earlier this week. “So I want you guys to not be alone, and feel safe, and I have a bunch of that coming soon.”
A few of Cooper’s friends have spoken out following the news of his death. Bryce Hall retweeted a post by the BFFs Podcast— no which Cooper had recently appeared— that reads “Devastating news. RIP Cooper Noriega. Life is fragile. Enjoy every minute.”
Bryce then tweeted “fuck man” soon after.
Mads Lewis, ex-girlfriend of Jaden Hossler, tweeted asking fans to stop putting Jaden’s music over edits of Cooper.
Jaden and Cooper were best friends, but fans have speculated the two recently grew apart for unknown reasons.
Mads tweeted, “y’all know nothing! please stop using jadens music over edits of cooper it’s disrespectful! And disgusting! you’re a hypocrite jaden a fucking hypocrite.”
Jaden has since archived his Instagram content except two posts with Cooper. He has paid homage to his best friend by posting several stories dedicated to him.
Two days after Cooper’s passing, Nessa posted a loving tribute on her Instagram with a lengthy caption.
“I’ve spent the past two days trying to comprehend how this could be real. There’s simply no way of processing the loss of ur best friend. I’ve been trying to understand how life could possibly still have meaning with u gone. A part of me died with u,” she wrote.
“But what’s left of me is going to live for u. I’ll spend the rest of my life finishing everything we’ve ever dreamed of. I want to make u proud. U had the biggest heart I’ve ever encountered on this earth. a heart way too big for u to even carry.”
Nessa went on to say Cooper “saved” her and that no one understood her like he did.
“I’m living everyday for u. it’s all for u. I can’t wait to see u again my sweet boy. My best friend forever, rest in peace,” she finished.