Over a week ago, the world got news that rapper Mac Miller passed away from a drug overdose. This news was shocking to everyone, even myself who did not listen to his music as much as my friends did.
Even if you weren’t a fan, you knew who he was. He was the theme song of everyone’s life at some point in time, even if short, throughout middle school and high school. And if not that, you were a fan of him and Ariana grande’s song “The Way” released back in 2013.
According to Billboard, Grande confirmed that the two were broken up on May 10 of this year when the singer tweeted, “This is one of my best friends in the whole world and favorite people on the planet. I respect and adore him endlessly and am grateful to have him in my life in any form, at all times regardless of how our relationship changes or what the universe holds for each of us!”
She immediately got flack from fans who felt entitled to their own opinion on their relationship decision. This is only one example of the endless times people on social media believe they know the ins and outs of people’s personal lives.
When news of Mac’s passing hit the headlines, fans rolled right into her IG comments and Twitter mentions trolling and blaming her for the late rapper’s death. They claimed that he wasn’t able to handle the heartbreak of their split and her engagement which apparently lead him downhill since.
What about social media makes people so insensitive? What about typing to an app on a phone makes people so instinctively bitter?
An interview by PEOPLE with one of Mac’s friends defends my point about how nobody really knows a relationship unless they’re the ones in it; you can never judge someone from the outside, whether they’re celebrities or regular people you know at school and work.
“They were very much in love and I have to say, she was incredible when he was first sobering up,” said Shane Powers, (via PEOPLE). “She was a fu**ing G to him. There could not have been anybody more supportive of him being sober than Ariana. I saw that, I was around it, I took phone calls from her. ‘How do I help? What do I do?’ This little girl was unbelievably involved and helpful to him being healthy.”
He continued to praise her for her character and affection that she showed Miller.
“Whether he’s an addict or not, the way that Mac partied was not healthy,” he added. “[And] there was no one in his life more ready to go to the wall for him when it came to him being sober. She was an unbelievably stabilizing force in his life and she was deeply helpful and effective in keeping Mac sober and helping him get sober. She was all about him being healthy. Period.”
I’ve personally been very disappointed in the way that people who Ariana and Mac never knew existed felt the need to insert their two cents into this entire ordeal. It’s not fair to anyone involved, and its so important to honor the dead. Of course, you might be thinking, how does the trolling of Ariana affect Mac?
Mac loved her no matter what. He would not stand for any disrespect on her name. So to bash her while he is no longer with us is still a dishonor to him.
Ariana doesn’t deserve any of this. From her fans dying at her concert, to her grandfather passing away, she has not had the time to grieve. Every life event she’s had has overlapped.
I hope and pray that she is okay, and I will continue to pray for her mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual health. I hope you will join me.