On September 7, 2018, rapper Mac Miller was pronounced dead after an apparent drug overdose. He was found unresponsive at noon of that day, after a friend of his called for an "immediate dispatch" for a patient in cardiac arrest, according to a 911 call. Miller was pronounced dead once the authorities arrived at the scene. In 2016, Miller started dating Ariana Grande four years after they recorded Grande's breakout single, "The Way." The couple broke up in May 2018, four months before his death.

You're probably thinking to yourself, "what does Mac Miller's relationship with Ariana Grande have to do with his death?" I'm glad you asked, because shortly after Miller's death, Ariana Grande got numerous responses on Twitter and Instagram regarding Miller's death, saying that his death was "her fault" and that "she should never have left him when he was at his lowest." The backlash that Grande was receiving was so bad to the point where she had no choice but to disable the comments on her Instagram account. People have gotten so angry about this that they had to blame someone else for someone's death just because they dated for two years prior.

Learning about this whole fiasco, I thought this was absolutely ridiculous that people are putting all the blame on Ariana Grande for Mac Miller's death. But then I realized something much deeper when I was reading through all these tweets and Instagram comments. This wasn't just about blaming someone for someone else's death, this was also about people still assuming that women have to rescue men from mental illnesses or any other issues in their lives. This is known as the "Yoko effect," which is a damaging myth that women are responsible for their male partner's actions. Many of the comments mentioned how Grande left Miller when he was at his lowest, and this is the kind of mindset that needs to stop.

The truth is, it's completely OK to leave a toxic relationship, regardless of who you are.

Many people seem to not be able to make up their minds when it comes to leaving toxic relationships. When someone is still in a toxic relationship and people find out, the first thing they say is "well, why don't you just leave?" Once that person gets the strength to leave that relationship and the other person's life goes in a downward spiral, people tend to blame the other person and say things along the lines of "this wouldn't have happened if you didn't leave!"

This blame game is absolutely unnecessary when it comes to mourning someone's death, and I completely understand why Ariana Grande disabled the comments on her Instagram account. I know that if I was in her shoes and I was bombarded with countless death threats I would do the same thing. The thing is, dealing with Mac Miller's death (along with her being groped at Aretha Franklin's funeral the week before) is putting enough weight on Grande as is. She does not need all these nasty comments to add to it.