Comedian and trans activist Daphne Dorman has died by suicide at the age of 44 after writing a ‘goodbye’ post on social media.
Daphne apologised to her friends, family, and followers in the note, which was posted to her Facebook account in the early hours of Friday morning (October 11).
Following the tragic news, the Office of Transgender Initiatives in San Francisco confirmed the comedian’s death on their Twitter account, offering counselling for anyone seeking help.
To our TGNC community, we love you.
We are saddened to learn about of loss of Daphne Dorman today who was a beloved community member.
If you need support, please reach out to @TransLifeline and @TRANSTHRIVE will be open for drop ins today and tomorrow (Friday and Saturday).
— TransCitySF (@TransCitySF) October 11, 2019
Daphne’s sister, Becky Kugler, also confirmed her death and shared a tribute online that read, as per the Independent: ‘Sweet, sweet Daphne. I so wish we could all have helped you through your darkness. We’ll always love you, fly high sweet angel.’
The comedian accompanied her farewell post with a couple of pictures: one of her next to a message which read, ‘So long and thanks for all the fish,’ and one with her daughter, Naia. Overlapping the images were the dates 30 April 1975 – 11 October 2019.
Her post read:
I’m sorry. I’ve thought about this a lot before this morning. How do you say ‘goodbye’ and ‘I’m sorry’ and ‘I love you’ to all the beautiful souls you know? For the last time. There’s no good way. That’s what I got out of all that thought.
To those of you who are mad at me: please forgive me. To those of you who wonder if you failed me: you didn’t. To those of you feel like I failed you: I did and I’m sorry and I hope you’ll remember me in better times and better light.
I love you all. I’m sorry. Please help my daughter, Naia, understand that none of this is her fault. Please remind her that I loved her with every fiber of my being. Daphne
I'm sorry.I've thought about this a lot before this morning. How do you say "goodbye" and "I'm sorry" and "I love you"…
Posted by Daphne Dorman on Friday, October 11, 2019
After building her career in the entertainment industry, Dorman was mentioned in Dave Chapelle’s divisive Netflix comedy special, Sticks and Stones, which aired in August.
Daphne, whose Twitter bio read, ‘Yep, I’m the Daphne that Dave Chappelle is talking about in Sticks and Stones,’ reportedly thanked the comedian for ‘normalising transgenders’ after Chappelle recorded a ‘hidden extra’ epilogue that addressed the criticism he had received for the special.
After his show created a backlash that the comedian was ‘anti-trans’, Chappelle recalled a story which mentioned Daphne attending his shows and ‘laughing the hardest’ at his jokes.
The budding comedian, who was working on a career in showbiz before she died, was an accomplished software engineer before she embarked on her successful comedy career.
Our thoughts are with Daphne’s loved ones at this difficult time. Rest in peace, Daphne.
If you have been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, please don’t suffer alone. Call Samaritans for free on its anonymous 24-hour phone line on 116 123
If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence, contact Cruse Bereavement Care via their national helpline on 0808 808 1677
A Broadcast Journalism Masters graduate who went on to achieve an NCTJ level 3 Diploma in Journalism, Lucy has done stints at ITV, BBC Inside Out and Key 103. While working as a journalist for UNILAD, Lucy has reported on breaking news stories while also writing features about mental health, cervical screening awareness, and Little Mix (who she is unapologetically obsessed with).