- Los Angeles comedian Joe Luna died of
COVID-19 after posting videos onInstagram to educate viewers on the severity of the virus. - "This COVID s--- is no joke," Luna, 38, said. "I've been put in the fight. I've been fighting for my life."
- The day he died, Luna had posted on Instagram from the hospital. "This is horrible, guys," he said.
Joe Luna, a comedian based in Los Angeles, died of COVID-19 after documenting his experience with the illness on Instagram.
Luna, who performed under the stage name Joe El Cholo, died at 38 years old on November 23, according to social media posts his family shared on his Instagram page. Earlier that day, he posted his final video on Instagram.
In a 35-minute video posted on Instagram on November 22, Luna said that he tested positive for COVID-19, had pneomonia, and as a double amputee and diabetic, he was "dealing with a lot." Luna said that before he got sick, he "would hear people talk about what COVID did to them," and "doubt" it could be that bad. But, he said, "I've been put in the fight. I've been fighting for my life."
Luna said that he made the video for "educational purposes," telling followers, "This COVID s--- is no joke." The video has more than 163,000 views as of Friday.
Luna said he was struggling with "horrible" and "severe" symptoms including chest pains, loss of taste, and convulsions. He said his girlfriend and children had tested positive for the virus as well.
In the video, Luna said that he had just been discharged from the hospital. But his subsequent video, posted the next day, showed that he returned to the hospital.
"This is horrible, guys," he said while wearing an oxygen mask in the video, which was taken in what he called a "filthy" room in the hospital's COVID unit. "My pneumonia got very bad. Everything has just been ... in a downfall right now." He died later that day.
In the Los Angeles comedy scene, Luna was known for his commentary on "cholo
"It was like his lungs were hurting more than we all felt before," Luna's son, Jose Talavera, told Fox 11. Talavera also tested positive for COVID-19, the local outlet reported.
A GoFundMe fundraiser started by Luna's friends said that after Luna lost both of his legs, "he faught [sic] very hard."
"He was my comedian super hero," the GoFundMe says, "even when he was hurting he managed to put a smile in our face."
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