Beckett Cypheridge, Melissa Etheridge’s Son, Dead at 21

Beckett Cypheridge, Melissa Etheridge’s 21-year-old son, has died, a representative said in a tweet on May 13.

The message 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.” Cypheridge died from opioid addiction. His mother said in a statement:

Today I joined the hundreds of thousands of families who have lost loved ones to opioid addiction. 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. 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.

I will sing again, soon. It has always healed me.

– Melissa

Amid the coronavirus quarantine, Etheridge, 58, had been offering guitar tutorials through social media as well as performing gigs on Facebook live.

Here’s what you need to know:

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1. Cypheridge’s Sperm Donor Was David Crosby

Cypheridge was born to Etheridge and filmmaker Julie Cypher in November 1998. The couple had another child, a daughter, Bailey Jean, 23, who was born in February 1997. The sperm for both children was donated by music legend David Crosby. Cypher and Etheridge split in September 2000.

The Los Angeles Times reported in 2001 that Etheridge and Cypher bought back-to-back houses so that they could share custody of their children. In 2019, Etheridge told The Sidney Morning Herald that the relationship between her and Cypher “didn’t end well.”

Etheridge has two other children, twins Miller and Johnnie Etheridge, with actress Tammy Lynn Michaels.

In a February 2000 interview with Rolling Stone, when Beckett Cypheridge was one year old, his singer mother remarked, “Beckett looks just like David, doesn’t he?” That same year, Etheridge and Crosby appeared on 60 Minutes to speak about their family. Etheridge said, “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. What they have in the home is two loving parents. I think that puts them ahead of the game.”

Etheridge has said that she considered asking Brad Pitt to be the sperm donor. Crosby said he received permission from his wife, Jan, to donate the sperm.

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2. Cypheridge Said on His Facebook Page That He Was Working at a Ski Resort in Colorado

According to Cypheridge’s Facebook page, he had worked at The Westin Snowmass Resort in Snowmass Village, Colorado, since November 2017. Online records show that Cypheridge lived in Littleton, Colorado, at a time.

On his profile, Cypheridge said he studied at Colorado Mountain College’s Aspen campus. Cypheridge graduated from Fusion Academy high school in Woodland Hills, California. He also attended Highland Hall in Los Angeles.

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3. Etheridge Said in a 2017 Interview That She Has Smoked Weed With Her Grown-Up Kids

Etheridge said in a 2017 interview with Yahoo that she regularly smoked with marijuana with Beckett and Bailey Jean. The singer said, “It was funny at first, and then they realized it’s very natural [at the] end of the day. It brings you much closer. I’d much rather have a smoke with my grown kids than a drink.” Bailey Jean graduated from Columbia University in May 2019 and worked as an intern on Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign.

Etheridge has been a pro-legalization marijuana activist since she began medicinally using the drug following her stage 2 breast cancer diagnosis in October 2004. In the Yahoo interview, Etheridge added, “My family, all four of my children, understand cannabis. They call it medicine.”

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4. Crosby Said in 2015 That He Didn’t See Bailey & Beckett as Much as He Would Like

In a March 2015 tweet, Crosby was asked how often he sees Bailey and Beckett Cypheridge. The singer replied, “Not as much as I’d like. More than I expected.” Another fan asked Crosby what his relationship was like with Bailey and Beckett. Crosby replied, “I love them.”

Crosby said in a July 2019 interview with Closer Weekly that the thing he was most proud of was his children. Crosby added, “I don’t parent Bailey and Beckett, the two with Melissa [Etheridge and her ex-partner Julie Cypher], but I do love them. Beckett’s somewhere in Colorado and Bailey just graduated from NYU today.”

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5. Etheridge’s Friends Have Been Offering Their Condolences via Social Media

As news of Etheridge’s son’s death spread, friends including Rosie O’Donnell and George Takei tweeted their condolences. O’Donnell wrote, “all my love to melissa etheridge on the loss of her beautiful boy beckett … no words #onlylove.” Takei tweeted, “My heart is heavy for Melissa Etheridge, whose son Beckett Cypher has died at the young age of 21. Nothing is harder than a parent losing their child. We are with you, Melissa.”

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