George Clooney left ‘sick’ after tragic death of best friend’s son aged 27: ‘Tremendous gut punch’
George Clooney has been left feeling “sick” following the death of Presley Gerber, the 27-year-old son of his closest friend Rande Gerber and supermodel Cindy Crawford.
Presley passed away on Sunday at a rehabilitation facility, with Santa Monica police now treating his death as a suspected overdose.
The Hollywood star, who regarded Presley as a “second son,” has since been seen at the Gerber family’s Los Angeles home.
“George wears his heart on his sleeve, and he really, really loved Presley,” a source told The Daily Mail.
Presley Gerber died at the age of 27
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GETTY“It was an incredibly painful and unwanted surprise, and honestly, a tremendous gut punch for George.”
Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber issued a brief statement requesting privacy “during this very difficult and painful time.”
Mr Clooney and Rande’s friendship stretches back to the 1990s, and the pair went on to co-found the tequila brand Casamigos together in 2013.
Over the decades, the two families grew exceptionally close, with the Gerbers visiting Mr Clooney in Italy, spending time at one another’s homes in Los Angeles, and more recently sharing dinners in New York.
George Clooney and Rande Gerber have shared a close friendship stretching back decades
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That closeness meant Mr Clooney developed a particular connection with Presley that went beyond a typical family friendship.
“George would spend hours talking to Presley. Especially after Presley got a DUI [in 2018], George would advise, ‘Don’t do that; it’s not smart. Be careful,'” an insider said.
“More recently, George shared loving notes like, ‘I am here for you,’ that kind of stuff. They were close. Presley was more than just a friend’s kid; they had a bond.”
Presley had battled depression, anxiety, and drug addiction for much of his adult life.
Mr Clooney reportedly regarded Presley Gerber as a ‘second son’ after growing close to the family
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A source close to the family told The Standard: “He is sick over this because Rande is his best friend, and everyone felt for Presley.
“There is no anger or shame, just deep sadness. Presley had a real problem with depression and anxiety.
“No one can fault him for that. Presley was living a nightmare.”
In 2019, he was arrested for driving under the influence, which led to a three-year probation order, a mandatory DUI programme, and two days of community service.
He had been open about his struggles.
Speaking on the Studio 22 podcast in 2023, Presley said: “Having struggled with mental health, depression and some other things that come along with that, I think that whether I help one person or a hundred people get out of that place that I was in at one point in my life, that’s all I need to do.”
Presley’s younger sister Kaia, a 25-year-old model, opened up about her brother’s “decade-long struggle with drug addiction” in the September 2026 edition of Vogue.
“When something like that happens in a family, it kind of levels everyone,” Kaia told the magazine.
Presley Gerber was the older brother of model Kaia Gerber
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GETTY“I think that’s also why I started to self-identify as the easy one and never wanted to ask for help.
“Because it felt like too much to have two children who were needing.”
Mr Clooney’s determination to support Presley was informed in part by his own youthful encounters with drugs during the early 1980s, when he was starting as an actor.
In an interview with Esquire last year, he acknowledged he “would joke about doing too many drugs” but insisted it was “never a big issue” for him.
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