Melissa Etheridge's 21-year-old son Beckett Cypher has died from an opioid overdose
Melissa Etheridge and Julie Cypher's son, Beckett, has died at age 21.
The singer's team announced the sad news on Twitter on Wednesday, explaining why there would be no Facebook Live singalong. Etheridge has been hosting virtual gatherings since mid-March. The tweet was met with condolences from friends and fans.
The singer, 58, later confirmed in a statement on Facebook that her son had died from a drug overdose.
“Today I joined the hundreds of thousands of families who have lost loved ones to opioid addiction,” she wrote. “My son Beckett, who was just 21, struggled to overcome his addiction and finally succumbed to it today.”
We’re sad to inform you that Melissa’s son Beckett passed away and there will not be a Concerts From Home show today. - #TeamME
— Melissa Etheridge (@metheridge) May 13, 2020
“He will be missed by those who loved him, his family and friends,” she continued. “My heart is broken. I am grateful for those who have reached out with condolences and I feel their love and sincere grief. We struggle with what else we could have done to save him, and in the end we know he is out of the pain now.”
Etheridge added, “I will sing again, soon. It has always healed me.”
Beckett is one of two children Etheridge shares with her ex-partner. She and Cypher also have 23-year-old daughter, Bailey. Both kids were conceived via sperm donation from friend and fellow musician, David Crosby.
"My partner Julie was adopted," Etheridge explained in an interview with Parents.com. "She spent her early twenties looking for her real parents, so she had that sort of issue in her life. She wanted her kids to know who their father was, but the father didn't have any parental duties at all. It was just to know where they came from. If you want to know, this is who it is. That was important to her."
The pair split in 2000 and Etheridge went on to have two more children. The "I'm the Only One" singer is mother to 13-year-old twins, Johnnie Rose and Miller Steven, with ex Tammy Lynn Michaels. They found an anonymous sperm donor. She explained that despite each situation's unique circumstances, it has made no difference to her children.
"There's nothing like taking the responsibility or creating the responsibility of bringing a human being into this world and helping it in its first years," she added. "It doesn't matter the equation that gets you there or what you are to that person. It doesn't matter at all. It is the bond between you and the child."
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