September 27, 2021, 8:41 am
Gabby Petito’s disappearance captivated the internet, and that remains true even after her body was found in Wyoming over a week ago. But what started out as people with good intentions trying to spread awareness and help locate her has taken a darker turn, as a new trend of psychic mediums on TikTok claiming to speak to Petito or even channel her spirit is garnering backlash.
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A search for “Gabby Petito medium” on TikTok brings up scores of videos — a mixture of psychics claiming to have new information and other TikTokers calling them out for trying to use a homicide for internet clout.
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“This is disgusting,” @dustindeanmentalist said, sharing clips from psychics sharing their “findings.” “Using false claims to gain clout off of something so tragic, all the psychics and mediums on this app should be ashamed of themselves.”
Another popular video captioned “this is eerie” shows a clip from a YouTube video in which a psychic claims to be speaking to Petito herself through some sort of device. A warped female voice says things like “he hurt me” and “he did it” as the supposed psychic asks questions.
A number of the videos have been taken down or privatized following widespread public backlash, including some that featured claims that were later proven incorrect, or that racked up hundreds of thousands of views.
Kelly Ferro (@kellythemagicalmedium) is one of the psychics who received a good amount of criticism over her videos in which she claimed to have visions of Petito and Brian Laundrie, Petito’s fiancé who was possibly the last person to see her alive.
“I won’t be doing any more videos on Gabby Petito to respect her family,” Ferro said after multiple outlets shared her TikToks. However, she has stated she intends to continue posting videos about Laundrie, and has already shared one in which she claims her visions are lining up with police suspicions. Most of her initial videos regarding Gabby still remain up on her channel at this time.
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Authorities are still searching for Laundrie, who disappeared from his parents’ house prior to the discovery of Petito’s body. The FBI issued a warrant for his arrest last week related to bank fraud, and he is considered a person of interest in Petito’s death.
A search for videos about Brian Laundrie from psychics and mediums on TikTok also pulls up a number of recent videos, suggesting the backlash towards those claiming to channel Gabby hasn’t convinced them to stop what they’re doing, but just to pivot ever-so-slightly.
*First Published: September 27, 2021, 8:41 am
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