Michael K. Williams' Nephew Emotionally Recalls Finding Actor Dead of Drug Overdose

Michael K. Williams' nephew, Dominic Dupont, is opening about the devastating moment he found his uncle, dead of a drug overdose, in his Brooklyn apartment back last September. 

Just weeks later, the New York City chief medical examiner disclosed that the actor's death was ruled accidental after, according to multiple reports, he ingested heroin and cocaine that was laced with fentanyl.

On the latest episode of Red Table Talk, Dupont joins Jada Pinkett Smith, Adrienne "Gammy" Banfield Norris, and Willow Smith to share his story for the first time, and discuss the dangers of fentanyl-laced drugs.

Dupont says that he hadn’t heard from The Wire actor on that September day when he decided to go to his house to check on him.

"I went upstairs, opened up his door, it was quiet. Michael always played music. That wasn’t the case," Dupont recalls. "I stuck my head in and said, 'Uncle Mike, are you in here?' And I observed him… deceased. I immediately called 911 and they said, 'Listen, do you want to start some compressions?' And I said, 'I’m telling you … he’s deceased. He’s gone. He’s cold.'"

While Williams had been open about his past struggles with drugs, Dupont tells the ladies of RTT that he hadn't noticed any change in his uncle that would indicate that he had slid back into addiction.

"Mike didn't appear to be overwhelmed or dealing with any major issues," Dupont shares. "Michael also worked really hard not to have the things that he was going through weigh on other people. And he was an actor, right? And you can fool people. You can convince people that you're OK."

While it may have been unclear as to whether or not Williams was struggling, one thing Dupont says he knows for sure -- his uncle wouldn't have knowingly taken fentanyl.

"I'm positive that he would not have, knowingly, taken fentanyl," he maintains. "I know that like I know my first name."

With fentanyl-related deaths becoming more and more common, Dupont says he hopes that by speaking out about Williams’ death, he can help prevent similar tragedies from happening. 

"Michael believed we don’t sit back and just look at things fall apart and just become complacent, and if we do, we’re complicit," Dupont says. "We have to work hard to make people aware about what’s happening, so that other people don’t have to feel the type of pain that I felt."

Dupont also shares a piece of advice his uncle gave him that he often turned to when he was incarcerated and the mental strain of being behind bars became almost too much to bear.

"Michael looked me right in my eyes and said, 'Dominic, look at me. Don’t you ever, ever, ever use drugs,' and then he put his hands on my face. I could feel his breath and he said, 'Do you hear me?'" Dupont recalls. "When I was in prison and felt like insanity was creeping in on me, I would hear that conversation."

While four men have been charged and arrested in connection with the death of Williams, at the end of the day, Dupont wants his uncle's story to serve as a life-saving cautionary tale.

"People are gonna be listening; they’re gonna be watching. They’re gonna be saying to themselves, ‘If this can happen to an amazing human being like him, it can happen to me,'" he stresses. "And if we can prevent that, then we’re doing the right thing. We all win."

The latest episode of Red Table Talk is streaming now on Facebook Watch.

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