anti-vaccine-alabama-youtubers-covid

Vaxx Mann/YouTube

YouTube couple die of COVID-19 after posting video against vaccines

Dusty Graham died of the virus nearly three weeks after his wife Tristan did.

 

Alexandra Samuels

Internet Culture

Posted on Sep 18, 2021   Updated on Sep 20, 2021, 10:47 am CDT

The “Alabama Pickers,” a couple known on YouTube for their antique picking—and lately, their staunch anti-COVID-19 vaccine stances—have both died from the disease, AL.com reported

The couple, Dusty and Tristan Graham, ran a since-deleted YouTube page together where they would post videos of themselves traveling around the state to find vintage items. They would then sell their items on eBay

Dusty died on Thursday from COVID-19 complications, according to the GoFundMe page set up by one of their children. His passing comes almost three weeks after Tristan died in her sleep after contracting the virus.

“Unfortunately, Dusty and Tristan have both passed away,” Windsor Graham posted on the page. “Thank you all for your kind words and helping us during this difficult time. We will be using the money to pay for funeral expenses.”

One of the last videos the couple posted was saved by another YouTuber; in it, Dusty makes his anti-vaccine stance clear while discussing local mask mandates. 

“Still haven’t gotten the you know what,” he said. “Still not planning on getting it.” 

“But if you want to, bully for you,” Tristan reponds. 

Dusty later said he has his “own passport,” while referring to the Bill of Rights, according to AL.com. “I think this will be all behind us in a couple years,” he said. “Then they’ll be like, ‘You don’t need that anymore.’”

According to Social Blade, the couple’s channel had roughly 10,600 subscribers. The couple’s GoFundMe has currently raised more than $24,000.


Today’s top stories

‘Fill her up’: Bartender gives woman a glass of water when the man she’s with orders tequila shot
‘I don’t think my store has even sold one’: Whataburger employees take picture with first customer who bought a burger box
‘It was a template used by anyone in the company’: Travel agent’s ‘condescending’ out-of-office email reply sparks debate
Sign up to receive the Daily Dot’s Internet Insider newsletter for urgent news from the frontline of online.
Share this article
*First Published: Sep 18, 2021, 11:27 am CDT