Daisy Coleman of Netflix’s Audrie & Daisy has passed away at the age of 23, according to her mother, Melinda Coleman. The sexual assault survivor and victim advocate, who faced bullying and backlash in her small town when she spoke out about her assault, died by suicide. “My daughter Catherine Daisy Coleman committed suicide tonight,” Melinda wrote in a heartbreaking Facebook post. “If you saw crazy messages and posts it was because I called the police to check on her.
“She was my best friend and amazing daughter,” Melinda continued. “I think she had to make it seem like I could live without her. I can’t. I wish I could have taken the pain from her! She never recovered from what those boys did to her and it’s just not fair. My baby girl is gone.” Learn more about Daisy, and her life:
1. She was the subject of the 2016 Netflix documentary Audrie & Daisy. When Daisy was 14, she was allegedly raped at a party in her Missouri hometown. After the assault, Daisy was left outside in sub-zero temperatures while wearing just a t-shirt. Her alleged assailant was charged with felony sexual assault, but the charge was later dropped. The suspect pleaded guilty to a lesser charge, claiming their sexual encounter was consensual.
The case triggered massive controversy in Daisy’s small town, and the bullying became brutal. Daisy attempted suicide several times as a teenager. Audrie & Daisy focused on what happened to Daisy and other sexual assault victims after they went public with their stories.
2. She co-founded the foundation SafeBAE. That stands for “Safe Before Anyone Else.” SafeBAE “is a survivor-founded, student-led national organization whose mission is to end sexual assault among middle and high school students. As the only national peer-to-peer organization of our kind, we help promote culture change by giving teens the tools to become activists and shift school culture through raising awareness about dating violence, sexual harassment and assault, affirmative consent, safe bystander intervention, survivor care, and their rights under Title IX.”
3. She was a gifted tattoo artist. Daisy’s artwork was incredible. At Phoenix Tattoo Company in Denver, Colorado, she created some true masterpieces. From hyperrealistic portraits of historical figures, to cute cats, scary skulls — and even Pokemon smoking weed — she could do it all.
4. She also modeled and played guitar. The tattooist also modeled, repping brands like DarkDenim in gorgeous Instagram photos. She modeled for the designer at the You Are The Runway event in Denver in February 2020, where she rocked a hoodie and pants printed with the words “F**K ICE”.
Below is a photo from Daisy’s Instagram page on his documentary will follow Daisy Coleman’s journey of healing from lifelong trauma and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, through EMDR Therapy.”
5. She also starred in the documentary Saving Daisy. Saving Daisy was about “Daisy Coleman’s journey of healing from lifelong trauma and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, through EMDR Therapy,” according to the film’s site. Daisy wrote on Instagram of the experience, “I’ve learned how to smile (and cry), I’ve learned how to trust, but most of all I’ve learned that I deserve to be happy. I absolutely can not wait to share this journey with all of you who have helped me when I needed it the most. I adore each and every one of you so much for always having faith in who I am and who I am supposed to be.”
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 or go to suicidepreventionlifeline.org.