Clooney Speaks Out After Presley Gerber’s Death

George Clooney stood beside Amal Clooney at The Albies in London on Friday, October 9, and spoke to Entertainment Tonight. The night belonged to the Clooney Foundation for Justice and its annual awards, the ceremony the couple established together. Clooney was 65. For the first time in public, he addressed the death of Presley Gerber, the son of Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber.

Presley had died on September 20 at the age of 27. Nearly three weeks had passed.

“I don’t think we’re even in the position of even being able to talk about it,” Clooney said. “Quite honestly, it’s one of the most devastating things that’s happened to our family. And their family is just as you can imagine.” He added, “It’s the worst thing that could ever happen with family.”

The Clooneys and the Gerbers had been close for decades, a friendship that extended far beyond any business the two men shared. George Clooney had co-founded Casamigos Tequila with Rande Gerber and Mike Meldman in 2013. The idea grew out of time spent together in Mexico, where Clooney and Gerber had neighbouring homes. The three men sold the brand in 2017 for $1 billion. Friendship remained central to its founding story. The bond was already older than the brand.

Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber married in 1998. Their daughter Kaia Gerber is 25. Clooney had known Presley for his entire life. The tie between the adults reached the children and did not depend on the company the men built.

Presley Gerber died at Resolutions Living, a sober living facility in Santa Monica. The death followed cardiac arrest. It has been investigated as a suspected overdose. The cause of death is listed as deferred pending further investigation and testing.

TMZ obtained video of Presley giving a solo tour of the sober home around 10pm the Saturday night before he died. He appeared visibly under the influence.

Presley signed with IMG Models as a teenager. His runway debut for Moschino came in Los Angeles in 2016. He worked with Dolce & Gabbana, Burberry, Bottega Veneta and Balmain, and appeared in campaigns for Calvin Klein. Born in 1999, he had followed his mother into fashion.

In 2023 he launched Mental Health Mondays, a social media series in which he discussed healthy habits and tools he had learned over the years to manage his wellbeing. In March he posted on Instagram about undergoing an ibogaine flood dose treatment. He wrote that he was praying it was the last time he had to come back. His parents answered in the comments. Cindy Crawford called him a warrior. Rande Gerber wrote that facing what is hard takes real strength and watching him find his way back to himself was everything.

In June, Presley appeared with Cindy and Rande at the We Are ENOUGH x Aviator Nation launch in Malibu. He joined them on a panel.

In August 2026, one month before Presley died, Kaia Gerber gave an interview to Vogue. She described the strain his addiction had placed on the family and praised the openness he had chosen.

“When something like that happens in a family, it kind of levels everyone,” Kaia Gerber said. “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 it.”

She set his approach against the privacy that had marked their parents for most of their lives. “My parents for most of our lives were very, very private and didn’t share anything - and now we have this absolute teacher, my brother, who says, ‘I’m going to be very human for everyone.’”

“There’s only so much you can hide from the world,” she said. “And trying to put a lid on something just makes the person feel like you’re ashamed of them.”

George Clooney and Amal Clooney joined the Gerber family in Los Angeles after learning of the death. They helped with arrangements and with whatever else the family needed. Clooney had always been very close with both Kaia and Presley. George and Amal were photographed visiting Kaia’s Los Angeles home after Presley’s death.

The cause of death remained listed as deferred pending further investigation and testing.