The YouTube drama and beauty communities are mourning the loss of one of their most influential figures.
Samantha Rabinowitz, better known as her YouTube name Here For The Tea, tragically passed away yesterday evening.
The creator’s sister shared the news on HFTT’s Instagram and Facebook pages, writing, “It is with a heavy heart and the most extreme sadness that I am sharing this news…my baby sister Sam @hereforthetea2 has passed away. She passed peacefully in her sleep yesterday.”
The news of her passing comes after Sam tweeted on November 3rd that she was taking time away from social media after receiving some “devastating news”.
One of the first drama channels on YouTube, Sam is considered a pioneer amongst the community and has been credited for exposing shady influencer marketing and sales tactics— such as undisclosed affiliate links and sponsorships— long before these practices were common knowledge to the general public. Though her work primarily focused on the beauty space, Sam helped shape the discourse around cancel culture, accountability from creators, and internet culture as a whole.
Her early investigative work paved the way for modern-day digital culture reporting, platforming online conversations and public figures at a time when mainstream media refused to touch these topics.
The news of Sam’s passing has understandably shaken both the drama and beauty communities, with several creators speaking out on her impact and sending their condolences to her friends and family.
Beauty gurus like Manny MUA, Jackie Aina, and Nicol Concilio each called Sam a “friend”, with Jackie calling the late creator “genuinely one of the good ones”.
Sam’s peers amongst the YouTube drama community have also shared their love for Sam.
Hannah of commentary channel Smokey Glow wrote a tribute, saying Sam was the “first drama channel I ever watched back in 2016” and noted she contributed to “so many positive changes in the influencer space”.
Peter Monn and Ali from Truth Sleuth, both of whom had notoriously tumultuous relationships with Sam over the years, tweeted their condolences as well.
“My condolences and prayers to the friends and family of Sam. We had our ups and downs through the years but that girl was really there for me through some of my toughest times,” Peter wrote. “We laughed we cried and she will always be remembered!”
Ali tweeted that she had “made peace” with Sam in recent months despite their history it was “nice getting to know [Sam] on that level”. “She will be missed,” she wrote.
No further details have been released on Sam’s passing. Her presence will be notably missed amongst the online community.