Thanks to social media, the words and images of celebrities who leave us too soon are forever
memorialized. But some stars' final posts were too striking to ignore in the wake of their deaths.
Grab some tissues as we look back on the eerie last posts of these late celebs.
Rapper and entrepreneur Nipsey Hussle's final post
proved to be sadly prophetic. He tweeted on March 31st, 2019,
"Having strong enemies is a blessing."
"You know that's the reality of,
you know success or greatness, that it comes with a rollercoaster ride."
A few hours later, he was shot multiple times outside his South Los Angeles store,
Marathon Clothing. He was pronounced dead at the hospital at the age of 33.
Although he was an alleged gang member and ultimately a victim of gang violence,
CNN reported Hussle was scheduled to speak with L.A. Police Commissioner Steve Soboroff
on how to stop gang violence. L.A County board member, Mark Ridley-Thomas, said in a statement,
"Nipsey […] was a father, businessman, entertainer,
and inspiration to many. […] For healing to occur, even from this terrible incident,
justice must be sought through legal means, and community peace must be found."
On November 29th, 2013,
Paul Walker tweeted a photo of himself, Vin Diesel, and Tyrese Gibson, writing:
"The boys are back. Will you be ready?"
He was promoting the seventh film in the Fast & Furious franchise,
which he never got to finish. The next day Walker died in a horrific car crash in Santa Clarita,
California while attending a toy drive for his charity, Reach Out WorldWide. After his death,
production on Furious 7 was immediately halted. Walker's brothers were later used as stand-ins
for the actor, with Paul's face digitally superimposed in order to finish his scenes.
"Hey. Thought you could leave without saying goodbye?"
Reactions to his death filled social media,
including a tweet by Mario Lopez that summed up what many fans were thinking:
"RIP Paul Walker. […] Eerie that the star of The Fast & The Furious died
in a car accident. […] God Bless his daughter."
"You'll always be with me. And you'll always be my brother."
Leave it to award-winning poet, activist, and author, Dr. Maya Angelou,
to bless us with her beautiful words in one last post, when she tweeted:
"Listen to yourself and in that quietude you might hear the voice of God."
She passed away five days later from natural causes on May 28th,
2014, at the age of 86. One of the most important and influential writers in American history,
the Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient's death left a nation in
mourning. Former president Obama said in a statement,
"Maya Angelou wrote that 'No sun outlasts its sunset, but will rise again,
and bring the dawn.' […] A childhood of suffering and abuse actually drove [Angelou]
to stop speaking — but the voice she found […] inspired the rest of us to be our best selves."
"Be a blessing to somebody."
South African model Reeva Steenkamp's last
post is eerily heartbreaking. On February 13th, 2013, she tweeted,
"What do you have up your sleeve for your love tomorrow??? #getexcited #ValentinesDay."
The next day, she was shot four times through the bathroom door by her boyfriend,
former Olympic sprinter Oscar Pistorius, who claimed he mistook her for an intruder. He was
eventually sentenced to 13 years and five months in prison. Steenkamp was a model,
a law graduate, and burgeoning TV star. Her publicist said in a statement,
"She was the sweetest human being and an absolute angel on earth.
It's a huge loss. She was a talented and beautiful girl."
Actor Leonard Nimoy, best known for his iconic turn as Spock in Star Trek, died on February 27th,
2015, of chronic heart disease, according to The New York Times. He was 83.
Four days before his death, Nimoy beamed down his last message, tweeting:
"A life is like a garden. Perfect moments can be had, but not preserved, except in memory."
"Live long and prosper."
The cultural impact of Nimoy's portrayal of Spock earned him legions of fans,
over decades of his life. At the time of his passing, Obama said in a statement,
"Long before being nerdy was cool, there was Leonard Nimoy. Leonard was a lifelong lover of the
arts and humanities, a supporter of the sciences, [and] generous with his talent and his time."
On July 7th, 2020, former Glee star Naya Rivera tweeted a photo of herself and her
four-year-old son, Josey, at Lake Piru in California, with the text:
"Just the two of us."
A day later, she was reported missing after Josey was found alone in their rented boat. Tragically,
Rivera's body was discovered five days later. She was 33.
Investigators believe Rivera died while saving her son, after the boat drifted
away while the pair were swimming. The Ventura County Sheriff said, via USA Today,
"Her son described being helped into the boat by Naya, who boosted him onto the deck from behind.
[He] told investigators that he looked back and saw her disappear under the surface of the water."
Ryan Dorsey, Rivera's ex-husband and Josey's father,
later shared a heartbreaking post, writing on Instagram,
"This is so unfair. […] There's not enough words to express the hole left in everyone's hearts.
I can't believe this is life now. I don't know if I'll ever believe it. You were just here.
[Josey will] never forget where he came from."