Photo by: Marcus Ingram/Getty Images
We are devastated to report the sudden death of Brandon Smiley, the eldest child of the Urban One family member Rickey Smiley. He was 32 years old.
“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,” the 54-year-old revealed in an Instagram post, as he was heading to Birmingham, Alabama to mourn his son.
There aren’t many details of Brandon’s sudden passing, however the Rickey Smiley Morning Show host revealed that he can now empathize with his grandfather, as they have now both experienced the loss of a child.
“Now I see … why he felt the way he felt,” he said. “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.”
TV One fans got to know the Smiley family through the popular reality show Rickey Smiley for Real, which centered on Rickey Smiley balancing his life as a parent and successful comedian.
Please join us as we send our deepest condolences to the Smiley family during this tragic time.
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