Melissa Etheridge's son, Beckett, dies at 21, succumbing to opioid addiction
Melissa Etheridge's 21-year-old son Beckett has died from opioid addiction, the singer shared on Twitter.
"Today I joined the hundreds of thousands of families who have lost loved ones to opioid addiction," Etheridge tweeted. "My son Beckett, who was just 21, struggled to overcome his addiction and finally succumbed to it today."
Etheridge, 58, has been performing live online every day while in quarantine, but an initial tweet, sent in the early evening on Wednesday, read, "We’re sad to inform you that Melissa’s son Beckett passed away and there will not be a Concerts From Home show today."
She took to Twitter hours later and opened up about the news.
"My heart is broken," she wrote. "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."
"I will sing again, soon," she added. "It has always healed me."
Beckett is one of two children Etheridge had with her former partner, Julie Cypher, from whom she split in 2000.
Cypher, 55 gave birth to him and his older sister, Bailey, via artificial insemination, using sperm from legendary rocker David Crosby.
The identity of the kids' biological father had been a subject of great speculation -- with everyone from Brad Pitt to Bruce Springsteen being mentioned as a candidate -- but his identity was revealed in a 2000 Rolling Stone cover story.
The kids have mostly kept a low profile, though Etheridge does mention them in interviews. In a 2017 documentary, she said she'd smoked marijuana with both.
In addition to Bailey and Beckett, Melissa is also mom to 13-year-old twins Johnnie Rose and Miller Steven, whose mother is actress Tammy Lynn Michaels, to whom she is also divorced.
Etheridge is now married to actress, writer and producer Linda Wallem.
