Yahoo Finance Bobby Brown opens up on 'Red Table Talk' about feeling 'guilty' for son's death
Singer Bobby Brown is speaking out about losing his son, Bobby Brown Jr. and and the toll it has taken on his family.
In an exclusive advanced clip of Wednesday's episode of "Red Table Talk" on Facebook Watch, Brown and his wife Alicia Etheredge-Brown sat down with Jada Pinkett Smith, Willow Smith and Adrienne Banfield-Norris to talk about how the 28-year-old's November death has affected their lives, especially that of their 11-year-old son Cassius.
In March, an autopsy attributed Brown Jr.'s death to the combined effects of alcohol, cocaine and the powerful opioid fentanyl. When the news came out, the couple said turned to therapy to figure out the best way to explain to Cassius how his big brother died.
"It was high anxiety for me, Bobby too, so we talked to our therapist, 'How do we explain this?' " Etheredge-Brown said. "I wanted him to hear it from us."
Brown Jr. was found dead in his California home, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. Police responded to a medical emergency at 1:50 p.m. to find the deceased man, later identified as Brown Jr.
More: Bobby Brown Jr. autopsy reveals death caused by combination of alcohol, cocaine and fentanyl
As Brown's youngest son, Cassius looked up to Brown Jr.
"We sat down and we spoke, honest, truthfully (about) what was found, how he did it. We first asked what he thought," Etheredge-Brown said. "(it's) terrifying for a kid to think that maybe my brother went to sleep and he didn't wake up."
Brown revealed he feels "guilty" for the substance abuse he participated in, saying it made his son feel like it was OK to "test something."
"He wasn't a user. He would experiment with different things. It wasn't like he was dependent on drugs like when I was in my situation. I depended. I needed it. He was a young man that tried the wrong stuff and it took him out of here," Brown said.
After his son's death, the former New Edition member said he feels it's his "duty" to remind people of the risks associated with drugs.
"Losing him was very, very unexpected, just like losing my daughter. We were just in the studio two nights before," Brown said.
Brown has seven children across several relationships, two of whom died in drug-related circumstances. His daughter he shared with late-superstar Whitney Houston, Bobbi Kristina Brown, died in 2015 from a combination of water immersion and a drug mixture according to a medical examiner.
More: Bobby Brown remembers daughter Bobbi Kristina in heartbreaking post 4 years after death
In the Wednesday episode, Brown said he has abstained from narcotics for 19 years and has been sober from alcohol for about a year. The "Every Little Step" singer says a 60-day prison sentence was the rock bottom that finally jolted him to stop using drugs.
Brown and Kim Ward, Brown Jr.'s mother, have called for criminal charges in the case of their son's death. Brown is hopeful that the person from whom where his son got the drugs from will be found.
"I am keeping my fingers and toes crossed they find the people and get these drugs off the street, but my babies are gone," Bobby said.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Bobby Brown, wife Alicia talk Bobby Jr.'s death on 'Red Table Talk'
