"So heartbreaking": Perez Hilton reacts after TikTok star Emman Atienza reportedly dies by suicide at 19

Podcaster and blogger Perez Hilton reacted to the death of social media influencer Emman Atienza. The 19-year-old TikTok influencer was found dead in her Los Angeles home on October 22. According to TMZ, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner confirmed that the lifestyle influencer died by suicide. Atienza's family announced her death via an Instagram post on Thursday.

Perez Hilton mourned Emman Atienza's death in his October 24 blog.

"So heartbreaking... Our heart goes out to Emman’s family, friends, and loved ones. May she rest in peace," Hilton wrote.

Citing Deadline, the blogger mentioned that Atienza recently moved to the US from the Philippines to pursue her career in modeling and influencing. Perez Hilton noted that Emman Atienza had over 800K followers on TikTok. Atienza also had a huge following on Instagram.

The social media influencer was the daughter of Filipino TV host Kuya Kim Atienza and fitness influencer Felicia Atienza. Emman Atienza's family paid tribute to her in an Instagram post that featured a series of pictures from her childhood. The caption of the post read,

"It’s with deep sadness that we share the unexpected passing of our daughter and sister, Emman. She brought so much joy, laughter, and love into our lives and into the lives of everyone who knew her. Emman had a way of making people feel seen and heard, and she wasn’t afraid to share her own journey with mental health. Her authenticity helped so many feel less alone."

It continued,

"To honor Emman’s memory, we hope you carry forward the qualities she lived by: compassion, courage, and a little extra kindness in your everyday life. With love, Kim, Feli, Jose, and Eliana."

In addition to posting lifestyle content, Atienza often talked about political issues in her country.

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Emman Atienza talked about her mental health in a January post

The social media personality shared a long post on January 8 this year in which she opened up about her mental health issues. Emman Atienza revealed that she had been dealing with "treatment-resistant mental illness" since she was 12. She also claimed that she was bullied in her teens.

"I came into 2024 unsure if I even wanted to live to see the end of it. I've dealt with treatment-resistant mental illness since I was 12. In my eyes, I was only getting worse as the years passed. For half of my teen years, I was bullied. I'd try to talk to my peers, only to be met with dry, uninterested responses. I vented and trauma-dumped to friends so often that they eventually grew tired of hearing it," she wrote.

Emman Atienza added that she had lied to her therapist about "getting better" because she was afraid that the therapist "would be disappointed" if she kept saying that she "didn’t want to live." Atienza mentioned that she went to Los Angeles for "intensive therapy." The influencer added that she faced SA during this time.

"I'd come back from therapy sessions screaming into my pillow or crying in the bathtub. In this same era, I was roofied and assaulted," Atienza added.

However, further in the post, she talked about her growth. She noted that she learned new "coping mechanisms" and developed "self-worth and confidence." She recounted posting content on TikTok. Emman Atienza shared that she gained half a million followers in just a few months and developed a new perspective on her life.

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According to People, the TikTok fame shared an Instagram post on September 1, announcing that she decided to deactivate her TikTok account. She said that she was finding it "increasingly hard to be authentic and proud" of her content. However, she returned to the platform a week later.

Two days before her death, the lifestyle influencer shared a post on Instagram in which she was seen enjoying herself with her friends.

Edited by Anuj Singh Kushwaha