Destinee Lashaee, Trans Star on My 600-Lb Life, Has Died

Destinee Lashaee, the first transgender person to appear on the TLC reality show My 600-Lb Life, has died.

No cause of death has been reported, but Lashaee had shared on social media that she was deeply depressed. Her brother Wayne Compton posted about her death Tuesday, The U.S. Sun reports.

"I'm sorry bro, I accept you for who you are, I accept every flaw that come with you, I'm sorry you felt alone, I'm sorry you felt you had nobody else to turn too, I'm sorry you felt you had no other option," Compton wrote on Facebook.

Lashaee, who appeared on the show in 2019, had recently posted messages indicative of her depression and possibly suicidal thoughts. "If I was surrounded by all my tears I'd be floating in the ocean," she posted last week.

A message from Saturday read, "To everyone who genuinely love and support me I love you and I'm grateful to have touched millions of lives and hearts around the world. Living my life with so much pain for so long I've come to realize that God makes no mistakes. I'm grateful for my journey and all I've been through. I don't regret a single moment. Love you all."

Lashaee weighed 669 pounds when she went on the show, which details the weight-loss efforts of people who weigh 600 pounds or more. She spoke about her mental health struggles on the program, the Sun notes.

"I feel like all I'm constantly doing is trying to escape my depression and paint at this point," she said on the show. "Food is the only thing I can turn to to do that. I can feel it killing me. There is no way I'm going to survive for much longer." She was only 27 at the time.

She ended up losing nearly 500 pounds after her season on the show. She had posted on social media about her accomplishment, writing on Instagram last year, "I told the show I was Gonna be one of the biggest success stories they ever seen tho that experience messed me up mentally n with everything else I was dealing with I kept pushing I'm still pushing."

She was one of several people who had sued the show's production company, Megalomedia, for alleged mistreatment. While on the program, she was dealing with her gender dysphoria and grieving the death of another brother. She was promised mental health treatment, but the production company provided only one session of therapy for her, solely so it could be filmed, according to her suit, as reported by the Sun.

The producers "carefully scripted and managed many scenes for dramatic effect," the suit stated, and she added that she was left with thousands of dollars in medical bills not covered by the program. She was also forced to shave her face on camera, although shaving was "a source of stress and anxiety" to her, she said in the suit.

"The effects of Defendants' manipulation of Plaintiff for dramatic purposes, along with the ramifications for the diet and Defendants' demands on Plaintiff, took a tremendous psychological toll on Plaintiff," the suit claims. It was filed in 2020 in Harris County Court in Houston, and Lashaee sought $1 million in damages.

If you are having thoughts of suicide or are concerned that someone you know may be, resources are available to help. Trans Lifeline, designed for transgender or gender-nonconforming people, can be reached at (877) 565-8860. The Trevor Project Lifeline, for LGBTQ+ youth (ages 24 and younger), can be reached at (866) 488-7386. Users can also access chat services at TheTrevorProject.org/Help or textSTART to 678678. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at (800) 273-8255 is for people of all ages and identities.