Rickey Smiley reveals late son Brandon's cause of death

Rickey Smiley has opened up about the death of his son Brandon after over a month.

During an appearance on Today, the comedian revealed that his late son died of a drug overdose.

“He was struggling with that [drugs],” the 54-year-old actor said, adding that he was notified of his son’s overdose by his girlfriend.

Meanwhile, as he was on his way back to Birmingham, Smiley was informed that he had passed away by his younger daughter.

“His mother and I made several attempts to send him to get the help that he needed, to send him to rehab,” he explained.

“We thought he was doing better. He had just joined the church, just got baptized again probably a month before he passed away,” Smiley shared.

“He used. And it killed him.”

Rickey Smiley announced Brandon’s death via Instagram:

On Jan. 30, the radio personality took to social media app to announce the death of his eldest son, saying, "I just had bad news this morning. I'm on the way to the airport to get to Birmingham. I just want everybody to pray for me, pray for our family. My son, Brandon Smiley, has passed away this morning.”

Besides Rickey, Brandon is survived by his mother Brenda, brother Malik, three sisters, and daughter Storm, 3.