TikTok star Joules Smith has died at age 6 following a terminal cancer diagnosis.
The father of a girl named Joules, Joe Smith, shared the heartbreaking news of his daughter’s passing through an Instagram video. He expressed his everlasting love for her, stating that Joules passed away on December 9.
Joe explained their absence from social media over the past few weeks, mentioning that they devoted all their time to be with Joules. He revealed that Joules tragically passed away while in bed between him and his wife Elisha.
Joules, who lived with her family in the U.K., gained widespread attention earlier this year when it was revealed that she had been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor known as inoperable diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG). This type of tumor is particularly aggressive and located in the brainstem.
Joe started posting videos of Joules as she continued to battle the illness over the past few months. Specifically, she posted “Dance for Joules” videos which helped to raise money on a GoFundMe page set up for the family this past June. Nearly £97,000 (over $76,000) has been raised at this time.
The website — created by a family friend —shared that Joe and Elisha took Joules to the doctor “after very short and mild symptoms,” leading them to receive the brain tumor diagnosis.
“Joules has been an absolute inspiration to everyone and I’m so proud to be her dad, as is Elisha her mom,” Joe continued in his Instagram video. “We take so much comfort in knowing she inspired and touched the life of so many people from around the world.”
He continued, “That sounds insane to say that, but we reached everyone around the world with ‘Dancing for Joules’ and that’s thanks to you guys for sharing these videos and for helping us raise awareness. This is something we promise we’re going to carry on.”
Concluding his video, Joe asked fans to continue dancing for his late daughter.
“I know she’ll still be dancing,” he added. “I just want to take a minute to say thank you so much to every single person who has donated, who has been there on our journey, charity events, everything that’s going on at the moment and the ‘Dancing for Joules.’ If you took the time to dance, thank you so much.”
