Te Warena/TikTok
NEED TO KNOW
Te Whero, a New Zealand social media star known for a viral Freddie Mercury impression, died on Feb. 13 at age 16
Te Whero had been diagnosed with a germ cell cancer seven days before his death
“He passed away so smoothly,” recalled his guardian, Te Warena, of her final moments with her kid in an interview with a local news outlet. “I just said, ‘Well done, you did it. You’ve done it and now you’re free’ ”
Te Whero, a New Zealand social media star, died on Feb. 13, his guardian shared in a series of posts to Instagram. He was 16.
Whero was known online for his viral impressions of Freddie Mercury in 2022, where he donned a faux mustache to lip-sync the hit Queen track “I Want To Break Free.” Te Warena — who has been his guardian since 2017 — has a combined following of over 800,000 across Instagram and TikTok, known for sharing comedy and makeup content.
On Feb. 6, Te Whero reported symptoms of a sore leg, his guardian shared in an Instagram video. By Feb. 9, the teenager’s symptoms had developed into severe vomiting and seizures, and he was hospitalized.
Te Warena first shared the news of her kid’s hospitalization with her followers on Feb. 9, posting a photo of Te Whero in his hospital bed and sharing that he planned to be in the hospital for “a couple of weeks” as doctors developed a treatment plan.
“Love you so much my Te Whero,” penned Te Warena at the time. “You are so brave.”
On Feb. 11, the content creator shared another update about her kid’s health status, asking followers to keep him in their prayers as he had gone into “critical condition,” and on Feb. 13, Te Warena revealed that he had died “peacefully in my arms.”
Te Warena later shared that her kid had been diagnosed with a germ cell cancer that had spread throughout his abdomen and his brain.
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In the days since his death, Te Whero’s family and community have held several memorial services, and he was laid to rest in Taupiri, New Zealand.
“I just kept talking, we kept reading. We read out the messages to him as well. He passed away so smoothly,” recalled Te Warena of her final moments with her kid in an interview with Stuff, a New Zealand news outlet. “I just said, ‘Well done, you did it. You’ve done it and now you’re free.’ ”
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