John Amos’s Daughter Learned About His Death in ‘the Media’

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John Amos’s death was confirmed on October 1 by his publicist — the actor had died on August 21, as also confirmed by Amos’s son, Kelly Christopher (K.C.). But another member of his family, his daughter, Shannon, is saying she was unaware of his death until she read about it in the media. “We are devastated and left with many questions about how this happened 45 days ago, learning about it through the media like so many of you,” Shannon wrote on Instagram. “This should be a time of honoring and celebrating his life, yet we are struggling to navigate the wave of emotions and uncertainties surrounding his passing. Still, there is some semblance of peace in knowing my father is finally free.” Amos was known for starring in Roots and Good Times.

There has been a documented conflict between Shannon and K.C. over their father’s care. In 2023, K.C. went to jail over threatening and “terroristic” text messages sent to Shannon, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Throughout 2023, John took a cross-country road trip with K.C., who documented the trip on TikTok. Shannon contended that the trip and its social-media documentation were exploitative. Summarizing the situation to THR in 2023, she said: “Seventies sitcom star in trouble when his bipolar, drug-addicted son exploits him on TikTok and his ayahuasca shaman daughter comes to the rescue.” John and K.C. took a different side. “I have reason to believe that I’ve been taken advantage of financially, emotionally and every way that you can imagine as an elder, and I attribute most of this maltreatment to my daughter, Shannon Amos, who is estranged from me,” John said on a call to his lawyers in 2023, per THR. Shannon claimed John was being “brainwashed” by K.C., while John’s goddaughter claimed that John didn’t remember speaking that strongly against Shannon.