Juice Wrld’s mother is speaking out after the rapper’s tragic death following a fatal seizure on Dec. 8. In a lengthy statement, Carmella Wallace revealed that her son battled ‘prescription drug dependency.’ Now, she’s hoping his story will help others.
Juice Wrld, born Jarad A. Higgins, battled with prescription drug addiction before his death, his mother Carmella Wallace said in a statement to TMZ, published on December 12. “We loved Jarad with all of our hearts and cannot believe our time with him has been cut short,” she began. “As he often addressed in his music and to his fans, Jarad battled with prescription drug dependency.” Juice was just 21-years-old at the time of his death.
While Juice rapped about drugs in some of his most popular songs, his mother said that his intention was not to promote drug use. Instead, she explained that her son wanted to help those battling addiction, something that she declared “knows no boundaries and its impact goes way beyond the person fighting it.” She went on to say that “Jarad was a son, brother, grandson, friend and so much more to so many people who wanted more than anything to see him defeat addiction.”
Now, Juice’s family hopes his story will help others to become victorious in their own battles with addiction. “We hope the conversations he started in his music and his legacy will help others win their battles as that is what he wanted more than anything,” Wallace said before she thanked those who’ve supported her family during this difficult time. “We know that Jarad’s legacy of love, joy and emotional honesty will live on,” she concluded.
Juice Wrld, who was best known for his debut hit “Lucid Dreams”, died at the age of 21 on December 8 after reportedly having a seizure at Chicago’s Midway Airport. The rapper was on a private flight from LA to Chicago at the time.
The spokesperson for the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office told HollywoodLife that they have determined that “additional studies are required to establish the cause and manner of death for 21-year-old Jarad A. Higgins. Additional studies include cardiac pathology, neuropathology, toxicology and histology. The cause and manner of death are pending at this time. The Office will release a statement when cause and manner of death are determined.”
Sourse: hollywoodlife.com