In the wake of the tragic passing of Rickey Smiley’s son, Brandon Smiley, more details are being revealed.
As previously reported, Smiley shared Sunday that his oldest son Brandon passed away and solicited prayers for his family
“I just had bad news this morning,” said an emotional Smiley in an Instagram video. “I’m on my way to the airport to get to Birmingham. I want everybody to pray for me, pray for our family.
The comedian/host followed up by sharing that Brandon, 32, was scheduled to go to church with his grandma before the family received the news. He did not share a cause of death.
No foul play is suspected in Brandon’s death.
The Jefferson County Coroner’s Officer reports that Brandon was found unresponsive inside his residence by a friend at 10:07 a.m. He was taken to a local hospital and was pronounced dead at 10:52 a.m.
Chief Deputy Coroner Bill Yates said an autopsy performed early Monday found no evidence of trauma or foul play and the cause of death is pending additional laboratory studies.

ATLANTA, GA – MAY 04: Rapper Da Brat, Brandon Smiley, and comedian Rickey Smiley on stage during TV One’s “Rickey Smiley For Real” season 2 Q&A session at SCADshow on May 4, 2016 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Marcus Ingram/Getty Images for TV One)
Rickey Smiley broke the news in an Instagram video on Jan. 29.
“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 captioned the video.
“I just want all our cousins and different family members to pray, be strong,” he says in the video, in which he says he was getting on a flight to Birmingham.
“I hate to announce this,” he adds. “I just want to give it to you before you hear it in the streets.”
Rickey Smiley didn’t elaborate on a cause of death, but was shocked by the news.
“Life comes with a whole bunch of twists and turns. I don’t care where you go or with,” he says.
He also alludes to how a similar incident played out with his grandfather.
“Now I see what my granddaddy went through and why he felt the way he felt,” Rickey Smiley says. “My granddaddy went through this s— with my dad and somehow, here I am going through the same thing my grandparents went through. So just pray for our family.”
“Today it just feels worse,” Rickey Smiley says in an emotional follow-up video posted on Jan. 30. “Because yesterday was the shock, but today reality is setting in and I can feel it.”
“More than anything, I feel bad for all the parents that got to bury the kids,” he adds. “I had to bury the kid. I know what it feels like.”

ATLANTA, GA – MAY 04: Rapper Da Brat, Brandon Smiley, and comedian Rickey Smiley on stage during TV One’s “Rickey Smiley For Real” season 2 Q&A session at SCADshow on May 4, 2016 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Marcus Ingram/Getty Images for TV One)
The former “Dish Nation” star also says he gave it his all when it
came to parenting his son.
“I tried to be the best father I could be. Wasn’t perfect. I didn’t play no games. I just tried to be the best dad I could be,” he said.
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