Comedian Ricky Smiley has opened up about her son’s death for the first time.
On Thursday, Smiley sat down with the TODAY show and addressed his 32-year-old son, Brandon, passing away unexpectedly earlier this year.
“I was in Dallas in my apartment getting ready to watch the playoff and his girlfriend called,” Smiley explained. “She said that, in her words, that he had OD’d. I got a phone call on my way out the door…that he had passed. She was crying. And uh, yeah.”
In addition, Smiley says the family has not received the toxicology report for Brandon to solidify his cause of death. However, they do not suspect foul play or trauma because he had a history of drug abuse.
“He was struggling with that,” the comedian added. “His mother and I made several attempts to try to send him to get the help that he needed — send him to rehab. We thought that he as doing better. He had just joined the church and he had just gotten baptized again probably a month before he passed away. He used, and it killed him.”
Smiley continued, “We just assume that if you’re in a good school district or you’re in a gated community or everything is going good that these kids are not doing drugs. You don’t have to be in the hood to succumb to drug abuse.”
Nevertheless, Smiley reveals that even though he was “shocked” by his son’s death, he was “not surprised.”
“Deep inside, I was kind of prepared for it. But at the same time when it happens you can never be prepared because that’s your child,” Smiley explained. “The God that we serve is just awesome. He has given me peace that surpasses all understanding.”
Host and comedian @RickeySmiley joins us exclusively to talk about the loss of his son Brandon earlier this year. pic.twitter.com/DwpD3JaNEB
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) March 2, 2023
