Months after his disappearance, TikToker Christopher Rooney — known as "Uncle Chris" to his millions of followers — is opening up about his manic episode in hopes of using his platform to raise awareness about mental health.
Rooney, 26, rose to prominence in 2020 with the TikTok account theyeetbaby, which features comedic videos of him with his niece and nephew. Since then, they have grown a fan base of 5.7 million followers.
But in July, the Richmond, Virginia-based creator made headlines after he went missing for nine days, alarming many of his followers. He later checked into an inpatient program at a mental health facility. Doctors diagnosed him with bipolar I disorder. This week, he publicly addressed what happened in full.
“Here is the story about how I went missing and ended up in the psych ward for 17 days,” he said in a TikTok video uploaded Tuesday, which has since received more than 5 million views and an outpouring of supportive comments.
Rooney is not the first creator to get candid about his mental health struggles — but he hopes going public with his experience will encourage his followers to learn and share more information about bipolar I. He said some fans learned what a manic episode was through his journey.
The experience has also allowed him to be more “himself,” after primarily being known as wholesome “Uncle Chris” online.
“I still want to keep going on with our Yeet Baby page and everything,” Rooney said in an interview with NBC News this week. “But now I see that my posts can help people if their family members or they are going through something themselves. So I definitely want to continue on this road and spread awareness and help in any way I can in the mental health world.”
Bipolar I disorder is characterized by prolonged manic episodes or severe manic symptoms — described as “extremely ‘up,’ elated, irritable, or energized behavior” — that require immediate medical attention, according to the National Institute of Mental Health.
Rooney said doctors told him that his manic episode had been induced by trauma he had recently experienced in his personal life. He had been struggling after he and his wife, a creator who is now private on TikTok, suffered two miscarriages and decided to get a divorce.
He said he was manic for around 30 days, during which he went “off the rails” at a casino, donated $20,000 to anti-child trafficking organizations after watching the movie “Sound of Freedom” and destroyed all of his belongings. Eventually, he went on a drive and threw items out of his car to try to get the attention of police officers.
“I basically was begging for help. I knew something was wrong,” he said.
During this time, Rooney posted several videos, which prompted speculation about his marriage from followers. He said people were making assumptions that others started to believe, which exacerbated his mental state.
“There’s multiple perspectives given that were just completely false about what’s going on in my personal life, and it’s frustrating to see,” he said.
The videos showed a different side of Rooney that followers didn’t expect. He hadn’t shared a lot about his personal life in the past.
“I had and have a life outside of [theyeetbaby],” he said. “I never really showed it before. That was a big thing. They’re like, ‘Oh, my gosh, casino and drinking.’ I’m like, ‘I hate to break it to you guys. I get to stay here for free because I’ve done this before.’”
After three years as a creator, he said he’s mostly unbothered by comments from followers. He just wished people understood that “no one knows what anyone’s going through.”
Now, Rooney said that he feels like he can share a bit more of himself and his personality online. As he’s been posting videos about his experience, symptoms and recovery, fans have left encouraging messages.
“Your heart is always in the right place Chris. Wishing you the best and happy to see you are doing so well,” one commenter wrote.
“You have no idea how much you are helping people. Mental health is important and YOU are important,” another wrote.
Rooney has since started an intensive outpatient program. He said he’s been “getting [his] stuff together” as he’s been treating his bipolar I. He’s also working on launching a podcast with a friend soon, which will touch on mental health issues.
And, he reassured followers, he still hangs out with his niece and nephew — it’s just been mostly offline.
“There’s so many options of what I can do moving forward and that’s a freeing feeling,” he said. “It’s a little scary, because I gotta figure what I want to do out. … I just feel like I can be more of myself.”
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