After being reported missing the previous week, Chris Rooney, better known on TikTok as “Yeet Baby,” has checked into a facility for mental health care and will be receiving therapy there.
The announcement was made public by Rooney’s family on Instagram on Tuesday under the “Yet Baby” name in a message.
“So many devoted Yeet Baby followers have expressed genuine concern for our beloved ‘Uncle Chris,’ and it is for those that we share this update,” the message said at the beginning.
“As the majority of you are aware, the last half year of his life has been filled with nothing but challenges. “What you all witnessed leading up to his disappearance was all of his emotions coming to a head,” the family stated in their letter, referring to Rooney’s erratic conduct recently.
According to the statement, his most recent acts were as follows: “Prior to his disappearance, he had seen the movie Sound of Freedom, and much like many others, he was sickened to the very core by it. Because of this, he decided to publish links to online fundraising campaigns for the cause of putting a stop to the trafficking of children for sexual exploitation.
“This may have appeared strange to some of you, but he really wanted to assist, and he continues to want to help with this case. Unfortunately, it was uploaded at a time when he was clearly obviously not in his right mind and was not behaving like the Chris that we know and love,” his family added.
After that, the statement said that Rooney “was presumed to be missing the following day.”
“We, as his family and friends, were afraid for his life,” the message went to say. We made an announcement on social media right away to keep an eye out for him and help the authorities in their search for him.
“After several hours of not knowing if he was alive or d.e.a.d, we got word that he had checked himself into a mental health facility,” the family disclosed in the statement.
The statement said, “We are sure that you all still have a lot of questions, but those are for Uncle Chris to answer once he is healthy and ready to share his experiences,” noting that Rooney is currently present at the institution receiving treatment.
According to the statement, “During this difficult time, he and his family have found great comfort in knowing that they are in your thoughts and prayers.” Additionally, the family asked anybody who is “struggling copying with anything” to chat to someone, repeating: “You are not alone. Because our time here on earth is so brief, we must remember that it is not intended for us to spend it in a state of hopelessness.
The statement also contained something called “a message from Chris to his followers,” which started with the following: “The amount of love and prayers I have received not just now but over the years truly has brought me out of some very low times.”
The following is what he had to say: “Unfortunately, there was nothing anyone could do to assist me.” It is something that I need to work on, and I’ve decided to make it the aim of my life to not only make myself healthier but also to help other people healthier.
The last sentence of the statement said, “If there is one thing I have learned during this time, it is that there are a lot of hurting people in this world, and I am going to do everything in my power to help them.”
During the epidemic, Rooney earned a following on TikTok by producing videos in which he encouraged his little niece and nephew to attempt to pour liquids. According to Rolling Stone, he gave the account the moniker “yeet,” which was his niece Marleigh’s first word.
