Melissa Etheridge Discusses 'Stigma' Of Addiction After Son's Fatal Overdose

Melissa Etheridge is speaking about her own experience with tragedy in the hopes it will help others.

As you’ll recall, the singer’s 21-year-old son Beckett died in May of an overdose following a years-long struggle with opioids. In the months since his passing, the normally-private 59-year-old has been vocal about her son’s addiction, and she’s ready to explain why.

In a new interview with Tamron Hall for her eponymous talk show on Friday, the I’m The Only One crooner shared:

“I wanted to share it, but I knew that this was his life and I didn’t want to draw any attention to him. But when he passed away, it became something, I knew once I announced it, it would be in the world.”

She continued (below):

“I have always walked my path openly and I make mistakes. I’m up and down, but I do the best I can and maybe showing the mothers and fathers and sisters and brothers how to, not understand, but how to walk and live with shame and guilt and the stigma that opioid addiction can bring into a family, if we can put it out in front and go, ‘Wow, this is a really big problem and there aren’t any easy answers. And let’s all come together and put some light on this.'”

Tamron and Melissa also discussed Beckett’s and older sister Bailey‘s sperm donor, fellow musician David Crosby, who previously struggled drug and alcohol addictions:

“I didn’t want to blame genetics. I know we have predispositions. My oldest daughter who’s about two years older than Beckett, is extremely successful, graduated from Columbia University, going to, getting her Master’s at the London School of Economics. So the genes are there, but the choices then are the individual’s to make and Beckett just, kind of, made the choices that made it harder and harder for him.”

So, so sad.

Music has been one of the main ways Etheridge has been coping with the loss of her son, and has been performing virtually from a newly built in-home studio over the last several months due to the pandemic:

“Knowing that maybe there’s one person out there who’s confused or needing something, and they get something from what we’re doing, that makes it all worthwhile.”