Ashly Robinson, a US lifestyle influencer, died last week while on vacation in the Tanzanian islands of Zanzibar with her boyfriend, Joe McCann. Robinson’s death on 9 April, just days after her birthday and a marriage proposal from McCann, has sparked suspicion on social media, with users doubtful of the current narrative surrounding her death.

No arrests have been made, and police previously said that McCann was not suspected of wrongdoing. But officials in Zanzibar released a statement on Tuesday saying that McCann’s passport has been “withheld”.

Robinson’s family is seeking answers into her death. The visit was supposed to be “one of the happiest of trips”, according to a statement the family issued on Sunday. Instead, Robinson was “found unconscious in her villa and taken to hospital, where her death was confirmed hours later”.

“Nothing about this loss feels real,” the statement reads. “One moment she was celebrating love and life in truly Ashly fashion, and the next, she was gone. The suddenness, the unanswered questions, and the distance from home have made this tragedy even more overwhelming for our family.”

According to the BBC, Robinson’s parents said they had heard from McCann 11 hours after the incident that is thought to have led to her death, though with not much detail. He told them at the time that Robinson was OK. Later, Zuri Zanzibar, the hotel at which they had been staying, informed the family that Robinson was dead. The hotel told the BBC that it was cooperating with authorities and the US embassy. The family told TMZ that McCann had not reached out since the initial call.

The confusion around her death grew from there.

Initially, Zanzibar police reported that Robinson, 31, had attempted to take her own life, according to the local outlet Mwanachi. Zanzibar’s North Unguja police chief, Benedict Mapujira, said that the couple had a misunderstanding that led to hotel management splitting them into different rooms – something the hotel did not confirm.

Local police, as of Tuesday, maintain that McCann is not suspected of wrongdoing.

“We cannot take legal action or detain him under these circumstances,” Mapujira said to Mwananchi.

CNBC

Not long after Leonardo DiCaprio walked the red carpet as a Best Actor nominee at the Oscars a few weeks ago, the internet was buzzing about why the ’90s heartthrob suddenly looked so good again. Some liked the 51 year old’s new moustache, but many agreed that the actor’s face appeared slimmer, making them wonder if he’d dabbled in cosmetic treatments.

“I didn’t see any telltale signs of any plastic surgery,” said Dr. Asif Pirani, a plastic surgeon at Toronto Plastic Surgery Center. “I just think he’s leaned up and looks healthier, and so his jawline is more defined.”

That there was so much speculation about surgery is indicative of a larger cultural shift. From 2018 to 2024, the number of surgical procedures performed on men increased by 95 per cent worldwide, according to the International Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. Less invasive treatments such as injections and laser therapy rose even more, with a 116 per cent increase over the same period. Regardless of whether DiCaprio is taking part, it’s clear that many men are – famous or not.

The rise is something Pirani has personally observed. When he first went into practice in 2012, men made up less than five per cent of his patient population. Now, it’s at least 10 per cent. Pirani sees younger men seeking Botox and injectables, but he also noted a surge in more mature men requesting facelifts, neck lifts and eyelid surgery. “You’d be surprised,” he said, referencing the middle-aged professionals he treats who are feeling under pressure because they’re competing with younger men at work.

Opinion: Looksmaxxing: A Gen Z boy’s reply to anti-male bias

Heather Widdows, a professor of philosophy at the University of Warwick in the U.K. and author of Perfect Me: Beauty as an Ethical Ideal, attributes this shift to the pandemic. “Those powerful CEOs might have looked in the mirror for five minutes in the morning and then they probably didn’t look at themselves very much again,” she said. “Then suddenly when they were doing their businesses online, they looked at themselves all the time, which completely changed their sense of self.”

Of course, this phenomenon isn’t exclusive to men – they’re simply the latest demographic for which plastic surgery is becoming normalized. “We’re seeing them aspire to more unrealistic and impossible ideals, like the kind of thing that women have been doing for a very long time,” said Widdows, who cited social media as another contributing factor. “We’re now seeing men be ashamed of their appearance and feel like they’re failing.”

The same trend is playing out in Hollywood, where stars such as Ryan Gosling and Bradley Cooper have recently drawn attention for their changing looks. Gosling appears to have had filler injected into the central mid-face, according to Pirani, a common procedure for replacing volume, but when it’s injected in the face centrally in a man’s face rather than along the cheekbone, the result is “a rounder, more feminine face.” This bloated appearance is likely what tipped people off that Gosling was dabbling in cosmetic work.

With a greater number of famous men submitting to cosmetic procedures, it’s no longer unusual for them to face the same kind of scrutiny and criticism that high-profile women do. Whether it’s Cooper sparking suspicion he’s had upper eyelid surgery or the recent appearance of an unrecognizable Jim Carrey at the César Awards in France giving rise to a conspiracy that an impersonator showed up in his place, online chatter about men’s faces is increasingly commonplace – and frenzied.

The pressure to preserve a sense of youthfulness is also the result of all genders today looking younger than they ever have. At 62, Brad Pitt is not how many envision or expect a man of his age to look. Gradually, that ends up normalizing the idea that an older-looking face is not how we are supposed to look.

“You can see how the norms flip,” said Widdows, “and we end up thinking that aging faces are disgusting and unhygienic because of that gradual shift.”

What’s also changed is that this kind of beauty work is no longer seen as unmasculine. “I think we’re moving away from that,” Widdows added. “Work on the body now is conflated with health work and well-being work, and that now includes aesthetic procedures.” Even though, she noted, they’re not really about health at all.

The Globe and Mail

Martinez’s sister, Lindsey Cooper, announced the sad news on Facebook on Saturday.

“Dolly had the brightest personality she could light up any room with her laughter, her kindness, and her loving spirit,” Cooper wrote. “She had a way of making everyone feel special, and her warmth will stay with us forever.”

“While our hearts are broken here, I find comfort in knowing she is now reunited with our dad in heaven. I can only imagine the joy of that reunion,” she continued.

“Rest peacefully, Dolly. You will always be loved, always be missed, and never forgotten.

No cause of death was given, but Cooper shared that her sister was in the hospital “fighting for her life” a day prior.

Martinez appeared on season 10 of TLC’s “My 600-Lb. Life,” which documented her struggles with food addiction.

She was on supplemental oxygen and also struggled with mental health issues.

Martinez did not get approved for weight loss surgery at the end of the episode, but she did lose 40 pounds after weighing 593 pounds.

“My 600-Lb. Life” follows a year in the life of morbidly obese individuals. Sadly, multiple people featured on the reality series have died.

Back in June 2023, Larry Myers Jr. died three days after celebrating his 49th birthday.

Myers Jr., who went viral for singing the “Mr. Buttermilk Biscuits” song at a chicken restaurant, passed away from a heart attack.

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