Disney influencer Dominique Brown died final week after reportedly experiencing a extreme allergic response at a vacation model occasion in Los Angeles. She was 34.
The incident occurred at an occasion hosted by the popular culture merch retailer BoxLunch on Thursday night, in response to a spokesperson for BoxLunch. Emergency providers had been known as to the occasion, which was held at Vibiana, a cathedral-turned-event venue in downtown Los Angeles.
The occasion’s DJ turned off the music to announce a medical concern and ask friends for an EpiPen, the BoxLunch spokesperson mentioned. The firm took measures to make sure the venue was conscious of all identified allergens, in response to the spokesperson. BoxLunch is now conducting an impartial investigation into the matter.
A spokesperson for Vibiana didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
Brown was described by followers and fellow influencers as somebody who helped foster neighborhood on-line. The theme park and collectible fanatic was most often known as the co-creator of Black Girl Disney, an area for fellow Black Disney influencers searching for neighborhood in a predominantly white area of interest.
The Long Beach, Calif.-based creator had cultivated a following of over 21,000 folks on her private Instagram, the place she regularly posted from the theme parks and pink carpets for Disney movies. She additionally had over 20,000 followers on Black Girl Disney’s account, which she launched with creator Mia Von. Von didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark Monday.
In Brown’s last Instagram put up, she is seen enthusiastically displaying off a Winnie the Pooh hat whereas sporting a cardigan from BoxLunch.
“I’m simply right here to say, get the obnoxious plush hat,” she wrote.
In its assertion, BoxLunch mentioned it’s “devastated” by Brown’s passing, calling her a “beloved member” of BoxLunch Collective, its model ambassador program.
“Our hearts exit to her household and associates, and we are going to do all the things we will to assist them and the members of the BoxLunch Collective and our workforce throughout this painful time,” BoxLunch wrote.
BoxLunch is within the means of arranging grief counseling providers for its employees and the influencers in its model ambassador program, a lot of whom had been on the occasion, the spokesperson mentioned.
After information of Brown’s dying broke, tributes started pouring in on-line. Brown’s brother, Patrick Ramos, commented on her final put up, thanking “her social media fam for displaying her a lot love and lightweight.”
“Disney did carry her pleasure, but it surely was unparalleled that she discovered a neighborhood who cherished her and Disney as a lot as she did,” Ramos wrote. “I’ll miss my sister and greatest buddy and that infectious smile she at all times had.”
Fellow creator Monika Jade wrote on Threads that she is “dissatisfied, confused, heartbroken, and ANGRY” on the information.
“All I do know is that all of us owe Domo a lot,” she wrote. “She has constructed REAL neighborhood and created so many alternatives for little black women turned adults who nonetheless consider in magic.”
Creator Patrick Dougall posted that Brown was at all times a “such [a] vibrant gentle” after they frolicked collectively, and that she “by no means not had a smile on her face.” He added, “I’m completely devastated for her household & our associates! And hope the correct events shall be held accountable.”
Actress Anika Noni Rose, who voiced Princess Tiana in Disney’s “The Princess and the Frog,” additionally shared a tribute to Brown on Sunday, calling her a “lovely spirit” in an Instagram story.
She posted a hyperlink to a Change.org petition that “mandates life-saving meals allergy measures in any respect meals institutions.” It has been signed by over 18,000 folks as of Monday.