RIP Minecraft YouTuber TOASTY, aka Bashurverse

Brandon Ashur, best known online as a Minecraft YouTuber with the handles "Bashurverse" and "Toasty Time," has passed away from pneumonia and COVID-19. He was 36.

Ashur's sister Anesa confirmed the news on a Facebook post paying tribute to her brother.

Ashur had amassed over 1.58 million followers on YouTube. Prior to his passing, he documented his struggles with COVID-19 on his Twitter account.

Ashur was most prominent in the early days of Minecraft YouTubing, hitting a million subscribers in 2014. However, in 2015, he became embroiled in controversy when he confessed about a time in his past when he was arrested for having a relationship with a 15-year-old when he was 18, though the pair never had a physical relationship. He was sent to mandatory therapy for pedophiles as a result of the charge, but his therapist deemed he didn't need to be there. The situation was the subject of intense scrutiny from Keemstar at the time, and eventually, Ashur disappeared from the internet. The situation has been a point of contention between the pair's fans since then.

He re-emerged in 2019 under the name Toasty Time, but it was clear that things were not the same for Ashur. In February of 2020, he revealed the controversy from years prior had cost him his marriage. The same month, he attempted suicide.

After the incident, things had begun looking up for Ashur. In the following months, he moved to Australia and began working on developing a creator's studio.

I’m going to create a studio of creative individuals that have a passion for pushing the boundaries of live/online entertainment. Equals who support one another and encourage each other to grow beyond what they thought possible with their art.

This is my dream, this will happen

— Toasty (@ToastyTime) April 4, 2021

News of Ashur's passing was met with tributes online, as many remembered Ashur's influence on the early Minecraft YouTube scene.

rest in peace, bashur pic.twitter.com/rmxn3KquGB

— Ricky Berwick (@rickyberwick) September 14, 2021

rest in peace bashur, I know he had such a rough time and was working so hard to improve things for himself, this is all so tragic

— Ethan Klein (@h3h3productions) September 14, 2021

Part of my childhood actually died. That honestly hurts. All I can say is Bashur was not the perfect human being but I will admit I can’t believe he’s gone. He was a entertainer with unfortunate situations and I’ll never forget about him. pic.twitter.com/GxCaZxTA7g

— TheHollowNobody (@TheHollowNobody) September 14, 2021

Rest in peace, Bashur. Just after everything started looking up for you, this happens. At least you can rest easy now, you deserve it pic.twitter.com/OEL0hq6n4o

— Counterbusters – AI: NirvanA Initiative (@Counterbusters) September 14, 2021