OK, first of all, Auntie Fee is still with us. She’s currently on life support at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center in Torrance, California, but the 59-year-old YouTube sensation is still here. On Tuesday, TMZ published (and later deleted) a post reporting that Auntie Fee, whose real name is Felicia O’Dell, had died after suffering a massive heart attack. Other sites quickly repeated the news, presumably shrugging and saying “Well, TMZ was right about Prince, sooo…”
For the unfamiliar, Fee became a legit YouTube superstar in July 2014, shortly after she posted her first video, “Auntie Fee’s Sweet Treats for the Kids,” which showed her deep frying crescent rolls (or “cheap ass donuts, it don’t matter”) filled with butter, sugar, cinnamon and raisins. The four-minute cooking demo was a success, with almost 4.5 million views to date, and set the tone for Fee’s inimitable style. In addition to her ridiculously great videos, she has also been a guest on The Steve Harvey Show, had a cameo role in Barbershop 3, and launched a line of Auntie Fee-logo aprons and signature spice blends.
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Those sweet treats were quickly followed by her recipes for “Good Ass Chicken,” her “dumb good” macaroni and cheese, and an attempt at something healthy which she called bowel movement bars. “I made these earlier today,” she said. “So if anybody’s bowels locked up, this is the key to unlocking them.” (If, for some reason, you are unfamiliar with Auntie Fee’s YouTube channel, you really need to turn your speakers down or put your earbuds in and make your way through four years worth of classic videos).
Fee did have a heart attack, though—and she is fighting hard for her life—so let’s crossing every single one of fingers and limbs hopes that she’ll make a full recovery. Just last week, she was still filming videos, posting a review of the chicken from Inglewood, California restaurant Art’s Wings and Things. (She also reviewed the owner, Art, who she repeatedly described as “a fine motherfucker,” before reassuring everyone that his wife’s hair was real, not a weave). Fee had to pause to catch her breath after carrying her takeout order into her kitchen, but was her usual fast-talking, foul-mouthed self as she shared her thoughts on lemon pepper wings, fried broccoli, and why Art’s stapled their to-go bags closed (“So a bitch don’t go in your shit,” obviously).
Last February, Auntie Fee did a video where she sharpened knives, wore one of her own hats, and talked about everything that was going on in her life. The title of that very personal nine-minute clip was “MY ASS IS BACK.”
Now we’re watching it, listening to her “spread the love,” as she put it, and hoping that her ass will be back again soon. Get well, Auntie Fee.
