Slipknot percussionist and co-founder M. Shawn “Clown” Crahan has spoken out ahead of the one year anniversary of his youngest daughter Gabrielle’s death at the age of 22.
Speaking to Rolling Stone, the 50-year-old revealed that much of his downtime during the coronavirus lockdown had him reflecting on the impending date of her death on May 18th.
“I’ve had a lot of deaths in a short amount of time and my therapist and I agree that I’ve never really had any time to really grieve these people that mean so much to me,” he told the publication.
“I lost my daughter less than a year ago. It’s coming up on a year anniversary. Sorry to bring it up, but it’s real. And the only way that I can get through it is to speak about it now. I haven’t been, but the anniversary of it is next month,” he said, adding, “And quite honestly, I’m preparing myself. I’m out here with survival gear. I think everybody would laugh at the Clown — be like, ‘Look at this guy.’ You know, I FaceTimed my manager one day and he was like, ‘What the hell?'”
Described in her obituary as a “social butterfly” with an “outgoing personality, cheerful attitude, compassion and loving heart,” it also detailed Gabrielle’s battle with addiction, with the tribute adding that “She fought it bravely, and no matter how many times she fell, she would always get back up again.”
“If there was anything she wanted to leave behind in her memory, it was standing up for others, always being empathetic and compassionate and never giving up on the battle against addiction,” it continued.
While no cause of death was given by her family at the time, TMZ reported that Gabrielle died from what appeared to be a drug overdose, coming just days after she proudly showed off an Alcoholics Anonymous coin to mark five months of sobriety.
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And while May 18th will no doubt set to be a painful milestone during what’s already a stressful time, Crahan is trying to remain optimistic.
“There are the tragedies, you know, and, I guess I want to spend more time talking about the positive potential in our world. And that’s why I say: I just love everyone. Hope everyone’s cool. We’re going to get through this,” he said.
Check out ‘Unsainted’ by Slipknot:
