YouTube Stars Beg Fans Not To Crash Their Father’s Funeral, But Fans Do
YouTube stars Ethan and Grayson Dolan spoke out to discourage their fans from treating their father’s upcoming funeral as a fan meet-up, NBC reports. “If you are a fan of Grayson and I we love you and appreciate you so much,” Ethan Dolan tweeted on Tuesday.
“The best way you could support us during this tough time is to NOT show up at our father’s wake or funeral. thank you guys and please please please respect my wish.”
His brother later echoed a similar sentiment, also on Twitter. The proactive request for fans to steer clear of events surrounding the funeral follows widespread use of two hashtags encouraging the gatherings, including #SeanDolanMeetUpParty and #seandolanfuneralparty. Both hashtags remained active on Wednesday, the day of the wake, including many posts sharing location information about the venues, photos from outside, and reports on visitors’ experience with security. The funeral takes place on Thursday. Some Twitter users posted photos of their “funeral outfits” or shared pictures of the meals they were eating to fuel up for the event. Those participating in the hashtags are an apparent mix of fans interested in attending the events, facetious accounts participating as a joke, and others expressing their disgust for the whole phenomenon. “Dear @Twitter @TwitterSupport You need to ban the accounts associated with this terrible hashtag. #SeanDolansFuneral2019. This isn’t okay, these people behind this are sick. Please do something! This is sick,” read one tweet. https://twitter.com/EthanDolan/status/1077311527781306375 Previously, security from the Somerset County, New Jersey funeral home indicated that local police officers would be on site and that private security would also be enlisted. Presence of security was indeed confirmed by a number of uninvited individuals posting videos and other reports of being stopped and asked to leave upon arrival. Several streamed the minor altercations live at the time. The Dolan Twins got their start on the video sharing app Vine which was later sold to Twitter before being shuttered altogether. Today the pair have nearly 9 million YouTube subscribers and more than 17 million followers on Instagram. Sean Dolan passed away Saturday at age 50 following a battle with cancer, some of which has been touched on in the past in the twins’ YouTube videos. The two have since taken to social media with personal tributes in honor of their father, sharing photos and memories from their lives together. Sean Dolan was a teacher, principal, superintendent, and coach. The family has requested donations in lieu of flowers, made in Sean Dolan’s name to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
