Magic Johnson’s son EJ Johnson has broken his silence on the death of his close friend and E! costar Lyric McHenry.
Nearly two weeks after McHenry, 26, was found unresponsive in the Bronx area of New York and later pronounced dead, her E! co-star EJ Johnson broke his silence on his Instagram page after facing criticism from fans for not publicly acknowledging her death.
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“I’m going to make this clear to everyone there will be no mourning post because I’m not going to reduce a 25yr friendship to 1 Instagram post,” the 26-year-old wrote on Thursday, E! News reports. “Please respect my privacy and my process.”
Johnson’s statement comes just weeks after he posted a touching tribute to McHenry on Instagram for her birthday.
“Happy birthday to my best friend who has strutted with my in princess gowns since day 1 @lyric_leigh words cannot express how much I love and appreciate you in my life,” Johnson captioned a photo of himself with McHenry and several of their friends. “Your constant love, respect and companionship gives me the confidence to live my truth every single day and I am so blessed that even as baby divas we recognized the greatness in each other. I love you.”
McHenry, who appeared on E!’s EJNYC as Johnson’s co-star, was found unconscious and unresponsive on a Bronx sidewalk on Aug. 14 after a night spent celebrating her birthday with friends. She was transported to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
The Stanford University alum had reportedly been found with a small Ziplock bag of cocaine, and a friend is said to have told police that McHenry was 20 weeks pregnant at the time of her death. Although an official cause of death has not yet been released, initial reports stated her suspected cause of death was a drug overdose.
McHenry’s family has since released a statement claiming that had “no knowledge of her using drugs” and that they believe her death to be suspicious. They have also denied knowing that McHenry was pregnant.
“Despite the speculation in earlier reports, at this point in time the cause of Lyric’s death has yet to be determined. In contrast, what is factual and known is that Lyric who just turned 26 last week on August 6, was a brilliant, creative and lovely young woman who shared a deep passion for writing, film and a long-standing commitment to social justice,” the family said in a second statement.
An official investigation into McHenry’s death has since been opened, and the New York Police Department is awaiting autopsy results before they rule out murder.
