YouTube star Keenan Cahill, best known for his lip sync videos with celebrities, has passed away due to complications following open heart surgery. He was 27.
In his last Instagram post, Keenan had shared with his fans that he was due to have surgery on December 15. According to TMZ, Keenan suffered from complications after his surgery and was put on life support. He passed away on Thursday afternoon at Chicago hospital, after being taken off life support.
“Keenan is an inspiration and let’s celebrate by remembering all the content he created, artists he collaborated with, music he produced and the love he had for everyone who supported him over the years,” his official Facebook account posted on Friday.
Cahill had Maroteaux–Lamy syndrome
Cahill had Maroteaux–Lamy syndrome, a progressive condition that causes many tissues and organs to enlarge, become inflamed or scarred, and eventually waste away. The condition can cause heart disease and physical limitations similar to dwarfism.
Diagnosed at age 1, Cahill had a bone marrow transplant in 1997. He also had several other surgeries throughout the years to help with the treatment of the genetic disease.
Tributes pour in
Fans paid tribute to the inspiring star by commenting on his recent Instagram posts.
"Core YouTube childhood memories from you. Fly free in the eternal sky," one wrote.
Another commented: "Rest in peace, you were someone i loved as a child. itsucks to hear the news of your passing. Thank you for being able to put a smile on thousands of faces over the years. rest easy Keenan."
"Rest in peace, thank you for being a highlight for my childhood," a third one added.
More about his career
Cahill launched his first lip sync video on YouTube in August 2010 to Katy Perry's Teenage Dream. He went on to collaborate with several famous stars like 50 Cent, Jennifer Aniston, Maroon 5 and Flo Rida.
His most popular video was with 50 Cent, where they lip-synced to the tune of “Down on Me”. The video amassed over 60 million total views. Cahill’s videos were some of the early, widely shared hits from YouTube, long before apps like Instagram or TikTok made viral videos an everyday part of social media.
