George Clooney reportedly spent hours trying to support Presley Gerber through some of his darkest periods before the 27-year-old model’s sudden death.
The Hollywood star had become far more than simply a famous friend of Presley’s parents, Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber. Sources familiar with the families told the Daily Mail that Presley and his sister, Kaia Gerber, knew Clooney as “Uncle George,” while Presley developed an especially close bond with the actor.
“George would spend hours talking to Presley,” one source told the outlet, adding that Clooney would do virtually anything to help Rande’s family.
The accounts have not been publicly confirmed by Clooney himself, but additional reports have described the same close relationship between the longtime friends and their families.
According to the Daily Mail’s sources, Clooney offered Presley advice for years, including after Presley’s 2018 DUI arrest.
One insider said Clooney warned him against making choices that could put his future at risk, telling him to be careful.
As Presley’s struggles continued, the messages reportedly became more personal.
The source said Clooney would send notes reminding the young model that he was there for him, while another person familiar with their relationship said Clooney’s recurring message was to “stay clean.”
Clooney had previously discussed his own youthful experimentation with cocaine in a 2025 Esquire interview, while making clear that he did not consider himself to have had an addiction.
That history, sources claimed, allowed Clooney to speak candidly with Presley about drugs without sounding judgmental.
The connection between the families stretches back decades.
Clooney and Rande Gerber were close friends long before Presley became a public figure and later went into business together. In 2013, Clooney, Gerber and entrepreneur Mike Meldman created Casamigos tequila.
Diageo later purchased the company in a deal valued at up to $1 billion in 2017.
Presley had increasingly discussed his mental health and substance-use problems publicly before his death.
He launched a social-media series called “Mental Health Mondays,” intended to encourage conversations about issues people often keep hidden. His sister Kaia also discussed how her brother’s struggles had affected their family in an August 2026 Vogue interview.
Just three months before his death, Presley appeared with his parents at a June 11 mental-health event in Malibu, where he spoke publicly about addiction, treatment and his efforts to improve his life.
That history makes the timing of his death particularly painful.
Presley died Sunday, September 20, at a rehabilitation facility in Santa Monica, California.
According to the Santa Monica Police Department, officers responded at approximately 9:35 a.m. to the 1000 block of Berkeley Street following a report of a possible overdose.
Police found an adult man dead at the location. The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner later identified him as Presley.
Paramedics officially pronounced him dead at 9:45 a.m.
While police are investigating Presley’s death as a suspected overdose, authorities have not officially determined that an overdose killed him.
The distinction is important.
The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner performed an examination on September 21 but deferred both the cause and manner of death, meaning additional testing or studies are required before a final determination can be made.
The medical examiner said that process could take several months.
Santa Monica police have said there is currently no indication of foul play.
Presley’s family confirmed his death through a representative and asked for privacy during what they described as an extremely painful time.
Sources close to Clooney say Presley’s death has hit the actor especially hard because of both his bond with Presley and his decades-long friendship with Rande.
One source described Clooney as devastated by what happened, while another said there was no anger surrounding Presley’s struggles, only sadness.
Those comments remain secondhand accounts rather than public remarks from Clooney.
What is established is that Clooney and Rande have been close friends and business partners for decades, and Clooney has remained deeply connected to the Gerber family.
For a man Presley reportedly grew up calling “Uncle George,” the relationship appears to have extended well beyond Hollywood friendship.
And according to those who witnessed it, Clooney spent years trying to make sure Presley knew one thing above all — that he did not have to face his struggles alone.
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