In the wake of the tragic passing of former child star Daveigh Chase, a resurfaced video from more than two decades ago has drawn renewed attention to her interactions with Sean "Diddy" Combs and Ashton Kutcher.
Best known for voicing Lilo in Disney's Lilo & Stitch, the actress passed away at age 35 following a severe health battle, just months after a viral clip showed her in a visibly deteriorating condition and sparked concern over her personal struggles.
Highlights
- A resurfaced 2003 awards show clip has reignited online debate following Daveigh Chase’s recent passing.
- Her struggles with homelessness and substance misuse have raised concerns about Hollywood’s treatment of young stars.
- A resurfaced video from the former child star’s final months has added to growing concern over the hardships she quietly endured.
Now, the resurfaced 2003 footage has fueled fresh debate online, with many social media users revisiting the entertainment industry's treatment of young performers, including Chase.
“It is sad but not surprising to find out that she became a**icted and was living on Skid Row the last few years. The entertainment industry has a**sed a lot of children,” wrote one user.
A resurfaced 2003 clip of Daveigh Chase with Sean "Diddy" Combs and Ashton Kutcher has gone viral, sparking renewed concern online
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Daveigh Chase was an American actress, voice actress, and singer. While best known for voicing Lilo, she also famously portrayed the terrifying ghost child Samara Morgan in the 2002 horror film The Ring.
She also provided the English-dubbed voice for the main character in Studio Ghibli’s Oscar-winning masterpiece Spirited Away.
Around 2016, Chase stepped away from Hollywood and lived an extremely private life before tragically passing away at a hospital in Los Angeles on Tuesday, June 16.
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According to TMZ, she passed away from severe complications caused by bacterial meningitis and subsequent bloodstream infections that developed into sepsis.
The progression of sepsis triggered a systemic immune response, causing her body to go into septic shock and ultimately leading to multiple organ failure.
Following Daveigh's passing, a one-minute clip from the 2003 MTV Movie Awards resurfaced online.
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Then-12-year-old Chase, who had terrified audiences as the long-haired, well-dwelling ghost girl in The Ring, was presented with the Best Villain award by Sean "Diddy" Combs, then 33, and Ashton Kutcher, then 25.
At the time, Combs and Kutcher were close friends and were paired to present the award.
In the footage, Chase appeared visibly nervous and overwhelmed by the live audience, prompting Ashton to reassure her by saying, “You’re doing great.”
In the viral MTV Movie Awards footage, the now-convicted music mogul invited then-12-year-old Daveigh to an after-party
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Diddy also leaned toward the microphone and added, “Take your time.”
According to Page Six, during a backstage interaction with Diddy while holding a drink, he reportedly asked Daveigh, “You coming to the afterparty tonight?”
Chase gave a quiet, seemingly hesitant nod and giggle. Upon receiving her nod, Diddy laughed and shouted, “Yeah!”
While media outlets treated it at the time as a standard, lighthearted awards-show interaction, the clip has drawn intense criticism online in hindsight.
As details of Daveigh's severe personal struggles, including homelessness, extreme financial hardship, malnutrition, and substance a**iction dating back to her teenage years, recently came to light, many online have revisited the clip in the context of Diddy's present-day legal troubles.
The 56-year-old was convicted on two counts of transportation to engage in pr**titution last year, felony violations of the federal Mann Act.
In October 2025, U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian sentenced Combs to four years and two months in federal prison, along with five years of supervised release and a $500,000 fine.
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He is currently serving his sentence at FCI Fort Dix, a low-security federal prison in New Jersey.
In light of this, reacting to his invitation to a 12-year-old, one person wrote online, “No one that young is prepared to handle what she experienced. It’s heartbreaking.”
Another user added, “When I look at the clip as an adult' it's more disturbing and sick.”
“Hollywood steals your children and consumes them during their formative years,” commented a third.
One person reacted online, “I used to think this looks like fun when I was 12, but now it looks disgusting and vile”
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Others expressed, “This is evil. Her parents sold her out to the money… She was a talented actress and a good kid. This tragic ending is heartbreaking.”
Another comment read, “Poor girl. Diddy was creepy back then as he is now.”
“How is it possible that parents allow things like that? Money talks?” one person questioned, while another added, “The more I learn about this Diddy fella, the less I like him.”
However, in October 2024, a spokesperson for Combs formally issued a statement denying any inappropriate behavior or wrongdoing in connection with the 2003 clip.
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The representative told Page Six, “It’s disappointing to see the media and social media commentators twist moments into something they were not.”
His team maintained that the onstage exchange was completely innocent, arguing that the public was unfairly mischaracterizing a standard scripted television comedy segment.
Moreover, Daveigh herself never publicly addressed the video or any related claims before her passing.
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It also remains unverified whether Chase ever attended the after-party that night in 2003 or any other event hosted by Diddy.
Daveigh, Diddy, and Ashton were photographed together once more, a few months after the MTV Movie Awards, at VH1's Big in '03 Awards in November 2003.
They posed for a backstage photo, which appears to have been their final public interaction, as there is no evidence that their paths crossed again.
Chase struggled with homelessness, extreme poverty, malnourishment, and a**iction in the years leading up to her untimely passing
Image credits: daveighc/Instagram
Just days after Chase's passing, a viral video filmed by an unidentified man in late 2025 resurfaced, showing the former child star living in highly destitute, hazardous, and unsanitary conditions.
She appeared severely emaciated and incapacitated on the floor of a cramped space that appeared to be a makeshift trailer on Skid Row, a 50-block neighborhood in downtown Los Angeles, California.
Chase's homelessness on Skid Row was reportedly the result of a decades-long battle with substance misuse, a painful estrangement from her family, and a complete withdrawal from the entertainment industry.
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Daveigh reportedly began struggling with d**gs at the age of 13, during the height of her childhood fame.
As her mental health and substance misuse issues worsened, she completely cut ties with longtime friends and eventually fell into extreme poverty.
Despite having accumulated substantial earnings from child-acting residuals that were safeguarded in a SAG trust account, her severe state of a**iction reportedly left her unable to access or manage those financial assets.
“Stole her whole childhood. This is what Disney and the entertainment industry has been doing for generations…” fumed one netizen
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