Oliver Tree has died in a helicopter crash in Brazil, as family tributes and social media posts have prompted fresh concern and confusion online following the fatal accident.
Reports of the singer’s death began circulating after two helicopters collided over Rio de Janeiro on Sunday, June 14, killing six people aboard, according to authorities and news reports.
Police said Tree was on the passenger list provided to aviation authorities, and later reports confirmed he was among those killed in the crash. Officials in Brazil said an investigation is underway into what caused the collision.
Among the other victims were Argentine content creator Gaspar Prim Díaz, known as Gaspi, filmmaker Lucas Vignale, music producer Lucas Brito Chaves, and pilots Charles Marsillac and Alexandre Souza.
Tree’s mother, Christine Begin Nickell, later shared a childhood photo of her son on Facebook and posted a short tribute in his memory.
Her message was followed by posts from Tree’s girlfriend, Fiona Chernavskaya, who thanked fans for their support and asked for privacy as the family mourns.
“I appreciate every ounce of support at this time,” Chernavskaya wrote.
“There are so many who have been affected by his passing, please show them love too.”
She also addressed speculation about Tree’s personal life and asked people to stop gossiping while she grieves.
“Please have some respect for my privacy, we kept our relationship very intimate,” she said. “What I really don’t need is to see gossip about other women that Oliver may have been seeing, we were monogamous.”
“Right now I’m mourning my partner and best friend, anything else is unimportant. Please have some respect,” she added.
In another post, Chernavskaya reflected on their time together and the many countries they visited.
“To my best friend, we traveled to 43 countries, and all 7 continents together,” she wrote.
“The magic, inspiration and joy you brought to my life and others, will never be forgotten or replaced.”
Tree had been traveling through South America as part of his world tour. He had performed in Buenos Aires on June 4, and in one of his final social media posts before the crash, he shared a playful video from Brazil.
His next scheduled performance was in Lisbon, Portugal, on July 1.
Tree had previously discussed unusual plans for his estate
During an April 24 appearance on the Zach Sang Show, where he wore a Shrek costume while promoting his album “Love You Madly Hate You Badly,” Tree spoke openly about how he wanted his money handled after his death.
“I don’t believe that any of the wealth or the things that get made from it is mine,” he said, revealing that he had no plans to leave his fortune to any future family. He explained he had set up a foundation, named Dr. Oliver Tree’s Art Grants for Baby Geniuses, designed to redirect royalties from his music back into supporting other artists.
“The idea is when I die, all the money’s gonna go back to artists,” Tree explained, adding that he believed interest in an artist’s work tends to grow after their death.
At the time of his death, Tree was unmarried and did not have children.