'Pray for our family': Comedian Rickey Smiley shares tragic news of oldest son Brandon Smiley's death
BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND: Comedian Rickey Smiley's oldest son Brandon, died at the age of 32, he disclosed. The show host and star of 'The Rickey Smiley Show' claimed that he learned about Brandon's passing on January 29. There has been no mention of the cause of death.
He also announced his trip to Birmingham in a brief video posted to Instagram, asking his followers and loved ones to pray for him and his mother. "I lost my oldest son #BrandonSmiley this morning. I'm okay, but please pray for my son's mother Brenda, his siblings and his daughter Storm," he wrote in the caption.
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Rickey shared the news of his son's death, saying, "I just have bad news this morning. My son, Brandon Smiley, has passed away this morning. Pray for my son's mother and my son's siblings, pray for my son and my daughter, everybody that was raised with Brandon."
Life comes with a lot of twists and turns, Smiley remarked, adding that he was okay. He then stated he couldn't think since he was sad but will update his fans soon. He continued, "Now I see what my granddaddy went through and why he felt the way he felt. My granddaddy went through this s**t with my dad and somehow, here I am going through the same thing my grandparents went through. So just pray for our family."
Rickey received numerous condolence messages in response to his post, including one from rapper AI B Sure! who commented, "Sorry to hear this news Brother Rickey." Kandi Burruss, a member of 'The Real Housewives of Atlanta,' said, "Oh no! I'm so sorry for your loss. I love you & Im praying for you!'
Brandon has 29K Instagram followers and was an actor and comedian like his father. Storm is Brandon's three-year-old daughter, and he frequently shared amusing content and family images on social media.
According to Sporstskeeda, 54-year-old Rickey Smiley is a father to five children. D'Essence Elizabeth, 25, Malik, Aaryn Smiley, both 21, and Brandon are his biological children and Craig Smiley is his adopted son. Rickey Smiley has not previously revealed anything about the mother of his children or the circumstances surrounding their divorce. Rickey acknowledged Brenda, Brandon's mother, in his announcement of the latter's death. Rickey disclosed that he has been married to Brenda for 12 years during an interview with Pierre Edwards on the Panic Room podcast. He admitted that his wife did not cheat on him when asked about her, but he continued by claiming to be a "different kind of guy."