BY PATRICK GOMEZ

Kelly Ripa on the cover of PEOPLE

To see Erakat featured in the pages of PEOPLE, pick up the latest issue of the magazine, on newsstands Friday

The youngest of four born to Palestinian immigrants, Erakat, 26, says he initially set out to be solely a “source of entertainment” for his audience.
He made them laugh with prank videos and impersonations of his “traditional” Middle Eastern parents.

But in 2015 Erakat decided to open up on his vlog channelDOSEofFOUSEY about his private troubles.

“I have bipolar and depression, and I was in rehab for an addiction,” he shared onstage at the 2015 Streamy Awards.

“I wanted to show my audience that even though I go through depression and everything else, look at me now,” he says. “I still struggle, but I’m proof that nothing can stop you. You can go through things and still accomplish anything you want.”