Tragedy has struck a legendary musician:
On Wednesday afternoon, Melissa Etheridge — via a Tweet sent out by her management team — confirmed that her son has passed away from an opioid overdose.
“We’re sad to inform you that Melissa’s son Beckett passed away and there will not be a Concerts From Home show today,” the aforementioned Tweet from the singer’s account read.
Beckett was 21 years old.
The biological son of singer David Crosby, who Etheridge shared with ex-partner Julie Cypher, Beckett was often in the news as an infant and toddler.
In recent years, however, he and his siblings were photographed relatively rarely.
“Today I joined the hundreds of thousands of families who have lost loved ones to opioid addiction,” Etheridge said last night in a statement, adding:
“My son Beckett, who was just 21, struggled to overcome his addiction and finally succumbed to it today. He will be missed by those who loved him, his family and friends.”
Etheridge and Cypher had two kids together during their partnership: a daughter, Bailey, born in 1997; and Beckett, who arrived on November 18 of the following year.
The children were born to Cypher via artificial insemination and the couple revealed in January of 2000 that Crosby was their dad.
“My heart is broken,” the musician continued in her statement. “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,” she added.
“I will sing again, soon. It has always healed me.”
Back in 2000, Etheridge, Cypher, Crosby and his wife appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone with Beckett and his sister.
They also sat for an interview with Charlie Rose on 60 Minutes.
In it, they explained to America their family arrangements and how the kids might grow up with same-sex parents.
“I do not believe that my children will be wanting in any way because they didn’t have a father in the home every single day,” Etheridge said on air.
“What they have in the home is two loving parents. I think that puts them ahead of the game.”
The artist and Cypher split up later that year, although they moved into back-to-back houses to facilitate coparenting.
Etheridge is also mother to twins, son Miller and daughter Johnnie, from her relationship with Tammy Lynn Michaels.
Both are 13 years old.
“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,” Etheridge previously told Parents magazine.
“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.”
We send our condolences to Etheridge, her friends, family members and loved ones.
May Beckett rest in peace.