Actor Michael Jai White, known for his work in films like Why Did I Get Married? and shows like Tyler Perry’s For Better Or Worse revealed that his eldest son died a few months ago after contracting COVID-19.
In a new interview with VLAD TV, he shared that his 38-year-old son, a father of six, passed after a battle with the virus.
“He was in the hospital for a while so it wasn’t immediate,” he said. He shared that his son, whom the actor had when he was 15, was involved in activities in the streets and struggled with substance abuse. When he tested positive for the virus, his system had already been through a lot. He also wasn’t vaccinated.
“Unfortunately, he was still out there in the streets hustling, wasn’t doing well, started getting on substances,” the actor said. “He’d come out, go back in, all that type of stuff.”
“You try to do what you can, but it’s ultimately up to that person, especially if that person is a grown person. But he never shook the streets,” he continued. “That was his thing. He lived the life that he wanted to live. He made that choice.”
“When he got sick and went to the hospital, COVID was waiting for him,” the actor added. “That was the knockout blow. He wasn’t doing well and his system was compromised because of other abuse.”
The Black Dynamite and Spawn star is a father of six. He was previously married to OBGYN Courtenay Chatman, whom he shares a daughter with. He recently married for the second time, tying the knot with actress Gillian Iliana Waters in 2015.