Melissa Etheridge's Son Beckett Dies at Age 21

On Wednesday, Melissa Etheridge's team announced on her Twitter account that her son, Beckett, has died.

The post said that there would be no "Concerts From Home" show today. Fans and friends commented on the post showing their condolences and sending their well-wishes to the 21-year-old.

The 58-year-old singer has been hosting concerts every day while doing self-isolation at home during the coronavirus pandemic.

Etheridge shared on her Instagram that the reason for her son's death is opioid addiction, and she is heartbroken, but she is glad that her son is now free from pain.

Beckett was conceived via insemination

Beckett is the son of Melissa with former partner Julie Cypher. He was conceived via artificial insemination in 1998, and the sperm was donated by David Crosby, who was a founding member of the group Crosby, Stills, and Nash.

Melissa Etheridge chose David Crosby over Brad Pitt

In 2016, Etheridge said during an interview with "Studio 10" that she almost considered asking a good friend of hers, Brad Pitt, to be her sperm donor. Still, then she thought that she did not want to share it with someone who badly wants children because she said that her children do not need another parent because they already have two of them.

The singer explained that she chose Crosby because he and his wife already have kids making him the perfect sperm donor. She even said that her teenagers were saying that they could have Brad Pitt as their dad because that could have made them "amazingly handsome." Etheridge and Cypher also have a daughter named Bailey Jean, who was born in February 1997. In 2000, the pair broke up.

Melissa Etheridge on Plans About Family Expansion

Etheridge opened up during an interview with "Parents.com" about using donors to let her family grow. She said that there is nothing like taking the responsibility of bringing a human being into this world and helping him during the first few years of life. She also said that it does not matter how you make that person come to life; what matters is the bond that you will make between the two of you.

She also shared that her former partner Cypher was adopted and spent her twenties looking for her birth parents, so it became an issue in her life. She wanted to let her kids know the identity of their father even if he would not have any parental duties with the kids. To her, it is essential to know who your parents are and to know your real background.

In 2006, Etheridge also had 13-year-old twins, son Miller Steven and daughter Johnnie Rose, with Tammy Lynn Michaels. The latter was not adopted, so she did not want anyone else to come into that parenting situation. Hence, the search for a sperm donor was a different experience compared to her previous relationship.

In 2014, Etheridge got remarried to Linda Wallem, a TV producer.