Blondie’s Chris Stein mourning the loss of daughter from drug overdose

Blondie guitarist and co-founder Chris Stein is mourning the loss of his daughter Akira, who he just revealed passed away in May from a drug overdose.

“There are a lot of you I care for that didn’t know and even though it’s not like me to post personal events publicy (sic) Akira was important to many,” he shared on Instagram. “She was wonderful and a bright place in the world. She had been struggling for years and addiction took her.”

He adds that his wife, Barbara, and other daughter, Vali, “are moving ahead but there’s a huge piece missing from our lives. Just remember her and be kind to each other and you young people please avoid this trap.”

Stein’s Blondie bandmate Debbie Harry also wrote about Akira on Instagram, in a post in which she first expressed how unbelievable it is to her to still be performing in Blondie at the age of 78.

“The flip side of this positivity is the loss of my god daughter Akira. She was just turning 20 and we lost her to fentynal,” she writes. “So my joys and sorrows are all the more extreme.”

Harry adds, “I will grieve for the rest of my life along with Barbara Sicuranza and Chris Stein, her mom and dad, and her sister Vali, at our terrible loss. Fentynal is too dangerous, seductive and easy to get.”