Melissa Etheridge and Her Son Beckett, Who Died Age 21, Had a Special Bond

Melissa Etheridge and ex-partner Julie Cypher's 21-year-old son Beckett has died.

The singer's team confirmed news of his death on Twitter Wednesday afternoon. "We're sad to inform you that Melissa's son Beckett passed away and there will not be a Concerts From Home show today," her team wrote in the statement. No further information has been released regarding his cause of death.

When Beckett was born, the singer-songwriter opened up about the joys of welcoming her son. "There's nothing like taking the responsibility or creating the responsibility of bringing a human being into this world and helping it in its first years," she told Parents. "It doesn't matter the equation that gets you there or what you are to that person. It doesn't matter at all. It is the bond between you and the child."

Etheridge and Cypher have publicly revealed that Beckett and their daughter Bailey, 23, were conceived via sperm donation from their friend, musician David Crosby. Etheridge is also mom to 13-year-old twins Johnnie Rose and Miller Steven, whom she shares with ex Tammy Lynn Michaels.

RELATED: Melissa Etheridge's Son Beckett Dead at 21

In 2008, Etheridge told The Daily Beast about the difficulty she faced trying to adopt or wed because of her sexuality. “The social worker would come to my house, numerous times, evaluate me, have me fill out all of the forms and then regretfully deny me my right to adopt my children because California law prohibited social workers from adoption approval of same-sex couples," she said.

At the time, she wrote that Beckett had his own strong opinion about the discrimination his parents were facing. "He, being 9 years old and very proud of his reading skills, read ‘Changes California Constitution to eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry. He looked at me, very matter-of-factly and said, ‘Wow, that’s lame.’"

Etheridge shared her plans to celebrate when the law was changed, “I will be waking up with my children on November 5 and I will be fixing them breakfast as I usually do. I look forward to telling them that prop 8 was defeated. I am sure my son will say, ‘Good, that was lame.’"

Shutterstock Melissa Etheridge and family

She also previously explained some of the complex conversations she had with her children regarding their heritage. "They know that there's a certain formula it takes to make a person, that you need some of that and it was given by an anonymous person," she told Parents. "My kids will ask me about my family and I'll say, 'Well, I'm English and Dutch and French Canadian,' and then they'll own that. They'll say, 'I'm French Canadian.' I don't want to say, 'That's not in your blood.' They know that deep down inside [since Tammy carried the twins], but it's a legacy. We have been raised by certain people and it's so much more the nurturing than it is the nature. When their school would ask them to find out about their family tree, they absolutely took my side of the family tree, too."

"I think it really makes us strong," she added. "I love that my children's school, we go to a public school in LA, is just filled with every type of family, every color, every ethnicity, every religion—it's really beautiful."

Shutterstock Bailey, Melissa Etheridge and Beckett

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When asked in 2012 what it was like raising teenagers, the singer told Pride Source, "My kids are 13 and 15, and I have two 5-year-olds; surprisingly, it’s very similar. They require all of your attention and they don’t remember anything you’ve told them."

She also credited her children for being the motivation behind some of her music. "Life has always inspired whatever I’m singing about, so events in my life in the last couple of years: new love, saying goodbye to an old love, and my kids and my hopes and my dealings of life are all there."

In more recent years, Etheridge was overjoyed to ring in Beckett's 17th birthday. "Happy birthday to my son Beckett, I am so proud of him...17!!! How did that happen? 🎶🎶happy birthday🎶🎶," she tweeted in 2015.

As her children grew older, the proud mom enjoyed bonding with them over marijuana — something she first began using recreationally at 21 and later for her medical treatment against cancer.

"It was funny at first, and then they realized it's very natural [at the] end of the day," Etheridge told Yahoo about smoking with her then 20-year-old daughter, Bailey, and 18-year-old son, Beckett. "It brings you closer. I'd much rather have a smoke with my grown kids than a drink."

RELATED: Melissa Etheridge Clarifies Remarks on Smoking Pot with Adult Children: They 'Are My Priority — I Would Never Harm Them'

"My children have a very clear understanding of cannabis," the mom of four told the outlet. "When I hold it without shame or confusion they can understand it as simple as if I was pointing to a bottle of Percocet and saying, 'That's mama's medicine.' You take the naughtiness out of it and it's not something kids then run to."

After facing some backlash about enjoying cannabis with her children, the star told PEOPLE, “My children are my priority. I love my children. They are four of the most amazing human beings on earth. I live a very blessed life. I would never want to harm any of them.”