Arts & Entertainment

Colton Haynes reveals his mother is terminally ill

the actor shared his mom’s health status in an emotional Instagram post

Published

9 years ago

February 21, 2018

Mariah Cooper

Colton Haynes (Screenshot courtesy of YouTube)

Colton Haynes has opened up to the public that his mother is terminally ill.

In an Instagram post, Haynes shared that his mother, Dana Denise Mitchell, has been in and out of the hospital since January with liver and kidney failure. He says that his mother is in need of a new liver but there isn’t much time left.

“The doctors suggested that we now focus on my mother’s quality of life rather than quantity of life,” Haynes writes. “It’s heartbreaking. My strong mother has always been the anchor of this family and our best friend. Now we’re being forced to say goodbye to her.”

Haynes’ family had started a GoFundMe page to raise money for Mitchell to have a full-time nurse. The funding surpassed its goal of $10,000 and additional funds will be donated to the American Liver Foundation.

My mom, Dana, always loves to laugh. Even when her liver & kidney doctors gave us the worst news you could get, my mom looked at us and said, “The best thing to do in these situations is to laugh.” She then chuckled so loud you could hear it to the other end of the hospital. That’s my mom. Shes funny, bull headed, & strong. My mom has been in and out of the hospital since January. After multiple tests we found out she actually has advanced cirrhosis of the liver & kidney failure. A diagnosis that can be cured with a liver transplant.. however..that bad news I mentioned before was that she doesn’t have that much time to wait for a new liver. The doctors suggested that we now focus on my mother’s quality of life rather than quantity of life. It’s heartbreaking. My strong mother has always been the anchor of this family and our best friend. Now we’re being forced to say goodbye to her. So with that horrible news from “Dr. Doom” (a name my mom came up for him) my family has set up steps to make mom comfortable. We set up in home hospice care so she can be home with her boyfriend, Gary, and her beloved cat, Fasa. Hospice care is covered by my moms insurance 100%. As well as nurses visits on a “need be” basis. A personal in home nurse that can be there 24/7, however, is not covered and would need to be paid out of pocket. My siblings and family are spread out around the country and world. We’ve been taking turns flying out when we can to help but it’s not enough. My brother wanted to do his part to help with the expense of hiring a full time nurse & guess what…the gofundme goal has been reached to pay for Amity Home Care in Hemet California! Now that the goal has been reached…every single penny we raise over the goal from today on will be donated to the American Liver Foundation to help others who are going through this horrible disease. It would mean the world to my family & I if we could make a massive donation to this incredible organization. Thank y’all for listening & sending all the love to my beautiful momma. Donation link in my bio ❤❤❤

A post shared by Colton Haynes-Leatham (@coltonlhaynes) on Feb 20, 2018 at 1:46pm PST

Mom…you are the strongest person I’ve ever met. We love you

A post shared by Colton Haynes-Leatham (@coltonlhaynes) on Feb 19, 2018 at 10:53pm PST

Online Culture

Clavicular charged in alleged rape of teenage influencer

Online personality’s real name is Braden Peters

Published

2 hours ago

September 23, 2026

Joe Reberkenny

Braden Peters a.k.a. "Clavicular" (Screen capture via NBC News/YouTube)

Online personality Clavicular, whose real name is Braden Peters, has been accused of rape.

According to NBC, Aleksandra Vasilevna Mendoza, an 18-year-old influencer known online as Alorah or Alorah Ziva, accused Peters of sexual assault, and the case is making its way through the court system.

The alleged incident occurred on May 23, 2025, when Mendoza was 17.

According to a criminal complaint from the Chatham (Mass.) Police Department, Peters called her an Uber to his family’s home. Once there, he allegedly got her drunk on vodka while they livestreamed on Twitch and then raped her. His mother and grandmother were allegedly in the house.

The documents allege Clavicular committed rape, drugging a person for sexual intercourse, and procuring and providing liquor to a person under 21.

According to court documents acquired by NPR, Mendoza began communicating with Peters on Instagram, where he paid her to appear on his livestreams to help her “make her name known on social media.”

According to those documents, Peters arranged for the minor to come to Cape Cod home to participate in a videostream for his 437,000 followers on Kick, 1.2 million followers on TikTok, and more than 1 million followers on Instagram.

At his home, Peters allegedly instructed Mendoza to say she was 18 on his videostream and to claim the alcohol on camera was water instead of vodka. Mendoza said she felt peer-pressured to drink the spirit and that she became noticeably intoxicated after a couple of drinks.

The allegations go on to state that after stopping the stream, Peters and Mendoza kissed on a couch and then had sex in his bed without her consent. Mendoza said she did not receive a sexual assault forensic exam after the incident. NPR does not name alleged victims of sexual assault.

The charges come months after Mendoza sued Peters in Miami, accusing him of sexual battery in connection with the events of May 2025. The civil lawsuit also separately alleges that he injected her face with a non-FDA-approved fat-dissolving substance during a November livestream in Florida.

Peters is known for his “looksmaxxing” concept of vanity, which is at the core of his online presence. The “looksmaxxing” culture he has helped cultivate combines elements of incel culture and heterosexuality, with the stated goal of attracting the opposite sex. He has gone as far as to say he has undergone “bonesmashing,” or hitting his own face with a hammer; taken anabolic steroids to more rapidly grow muscle; and used crystal meth as an appetite suppressant.

At the same time, looksmaxxing has been described as having elements of homoeroticism, with “looksmaxxers” appearing more concerned with impressing other men than women. Peters has multiple times pointed to openly gay actor Matt Bomer as the gold standard for male facial aesthetics.

Peters’s arraignment is scheduled for Oct. 14.