“I think one of the many fears people have about homosexuality is around children. I think that the more gay parents raise good, strong, compassionate people, the better the world will be.” – Melissa Etheridge, 2001
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Melissa Etheridge said Wednesday that her son Beckett Cypher has died.
[Cypher was the biological son of sperm donor David Crosby of Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young.]
Etheridge released a statement saying opioid addiction was behind Cypher’s death.
“Today I joined the hundreds of thousands of families who have lost loved ones to opioid addiction,” the statement said. “My son Beckett, who was just 21, struggled to overcome his addiction and finally succumbed to it today.”
No further details on the death were revealed.
Hours earlier, Etheridge’s Twitter account had announced the death of Cypher, one of two children the 58-year-old singer had with former partner Julie Cypher, conceived with sperm from Rock & Roll Hall of Famer David Crosby.
The daily Facebook Live concert Etheridge has been giving during the coronavirus outbreak was canceled.
“My heart is broken,” Etheridge’s statement said. “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. It has always healed me.”
Etheridge and Julie Cypher had a daughter, Bailey Jean Cypher, in 1997. Beckett Cypher was born the following year. The couple split in 2000.
Etheridge, a 58-year-old Grammy winner, singer-songwriter, and activist, also has 13-year-old twins.
Crosby retweeted a news story announcing the death, but he has not commented.
David Crosby ‘tested’ by death of biological son
May 14, 2020
Yahoo News – David Crosby thinks the death of his biological son was a “test”.
The 78-year-old rocker was the sperm donor for Melissa Etheridge and Julie Cypher’s son Beckett, who died as a result of a drug addiction at the age of 21 on Wednesday (13.05.20) but he suggested he had a bigger role in his offspring’s life than people may have thought.
Responding to one Twitter user who described him as a “donor who played no part” in raising Beckett, he replied: “Not true.”
A fan then sent a message of condolence over Beckett’s death.
They wrote: “While I know that you were a surrogate, I also know that you just lost a son. I’m sorry, I know you’ve had a rough year.”
David replied: “Maybe it’s a test.”
The veteran singer no longer has a relationship with his former Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young bandmates Stephen Stills, Graham Nash and Neil Young and he isn’t expecting them to reach out following Beckett’s passing … Read more.
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