Melissa Etheridge and Julie Cypher’s son, Beckett, has died at age 21. No other details have been released at this time.
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.Melissa Etheridge
We’re sad to inform you that Melissa’s son Beckett passed away and there will not be a Concerts From Home show today. – #TeamME4,472Twitter Ads info and privacy3,272 people are talking about this
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.”
