Oliver Tree’s mother, Christine Begin Nickell, has shared a heartfelt tribute to her son after he was killed alongside five others in a helicopter crash early Sunday in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
In a Facebook post on Thursday, Nickell uploaded a childhood photo of the late musician and reflected on her gratitude for his life and legacy.
“Our dear son Oliver, you made this world a better place,” she wrote. “We are so proud of you. RIP.”
The 32-year-old singer died in the crash along with five others: YouTube personality Gaspar “Gaspi” Prim, 23; director and screenwriter Lucas Vignale, 29; music producer Lucas Brito Chaves, 21; and pilots Charles Marsillac and Alexandre Souza.
Nickell’s emotional message came shortly after Tree’s girlfriend, Fiona Chernavskaya, also addressed the loss on Instagram Stories, thanking followers for their support in the wake of the Life Goes On singer’s death.
“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.”
Oliver Tree’s mother Christine Begin Nickell paid memorial to her late son Thursday following his death with five other people in a helicopter crash in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Sunday
Nickell posted a childhood shot of the late musical artist when he was younger, expressing her gratitude for her son
Chernavskaya also requested the public refrain from speculating about her relationship with the entertainer.
‘Please have some respect for my privacy, we kept our relationship very intimate,’ Chernavskaya 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 said in reference to the late singer on the platform Tuesday: ‘To my best friend, we traveled to 43 countries, and all 7 continents together.
‘The magic, inspiration and joy you brought to my life and others, will never be forgotten or replaced.
She added, ‘You’d always tell me when we argued, if things don’t work out in this lifetime, you will find me in the next. I love you buggy.’
Tree’s final concert took place on June 6 in São Paulo, Brazil, and he had been slated to perform in Lisbon, Portugal on July 1.
The enigmatic late performer donned a Shrek costume for an April 24 interview on the Zach Sang Show in support of his album Love You Madly Hate You Badly.
Tree’s final concert took place on June 6 in São Paulo, Brazil, and he had been slated to perform in Lisbon, Portugal on July 1. Pictured 2022 in San Francisco
The enigmatic late performer donned a Shrek costume for an April 24 interview on the Zach Sang Show in support of his album Love You Madly Hate You Badly
He said in the interview of his material, ‘I don’t believe that any of the wealth or the things that get made from it is mine.
‘And so when I die, set it up, my will is set up that when I pass, my family, no one’s gonna get a penny; if I have a wife or kids or anything, [they’re] not getting a f***ing penny.’
Tree, who was not married and did not have any children, continued, ‘I’ll get my kids through college, that’s the agreement, but they’re not going to be a silver spoon. They’re taken care of “because my dad worked on some stuff in the 2000s.”‘
Tree said that he wanted to put his money back into the arts following his passing.
‘The idea is when I die, all the money’s gonna go back to artists,’ Tree said. ‘So I’ve set up a foundation. It’s called Dr. Oliver Tree’s Art Grants for Baby Geniuses.
‘And it’s set up so that basically the interest generated from my music will take mostly that, but there’s also room for other money because when I die, my art will continue to have residuals – and probably be worth more than it is now.’
Tree spoke about how ‘historically speaking,’ interest ‘in an artist’s work go up after they die.’
He added, ‘People will finally appreciate my stupid f***ing videos, my f***ing stupid songs – that’s when people appreciate you when you’re not there anymore. Anyways, they might not, doesn’t even make a difference … the art will continue to make money no matter what.’
