On the Monday, March 13 edition of “Tamron Hall,” NAACP Image Award-winning radio host and comedian Rickey Smiley sat down with Tamron for an emotional interview about the recent loss of his son Brandon who passed away tragically in January. Smiley revealed how he received the news of his son’s passing, his struggles with Brandon’s addiction, his philosophy around parenting and how his family is helping him mourn. See the clip inside…
Rickey Smiley opens up about struggling with his son’s addiction prior to his death:
When asked what it was like to cope with Brandon’s addiction Smiley shared, “It was hard. It was expensive. You know? It is not cheap, sending your son off to rehab. I sent him off twice. His mother sent him I think twice. Comedian Special K on my morning show [Rickey Smiley Morning Show] was working with his mother to send them off.”
Rickey Smiley on how he found out about his son’s death:
“I was in Dallas in my apartment getting ready to watch the semifinals – Cincinnati Bengals you know, watch that game. So, Brandon’s girlfriend sent me a text message [that] said, ‘Hey, Brandon is trying to contact you. Call him at this number.’ I called, nobody answered so I called her back. I said, ‘hey,’ I said, ‘nobody answered.’ She was crying and I said, ‘what’s going on?’ She said, ‘Brandon overdosed. They rushed him to the hospital. He was – I found him unresponsive.’ So, I was like, ‘okay, I said hey, calm down. Everything’s gonna be okay. I’m checking the flights.’ So, I hit [up] my assistant and said, ‘hey I need to get to Birmingham now.’ He continued, “The flight was rough. The plane was dropping and twisting and turning and I was sitting on the flight just like this the entire time like, ‘what else? My day couldn’t get any worse. If I don’t make it home. I just don’t make it home. At least I’ll be with my son.’”
