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Brad Pitt ''Devastated and in Shock'' Over the Deaths of Chris Cornell and Brad Grey

Actor is mourning the loss of his two good friends

By Kendall Fisher May 18, 2017 9:18 PMTags

Brad Pitt is mourning the loss of his two friends, Chris Cornell and Brad Grey.

On Thursday, news broke that the 52-year-old Soundgarden rocker was found dead in his Detroit hotel room. Meanwhile, last weekend, Grey—the former Paramount Pictures chairman and CEO—died of cancer at just 59-years-old.

Pitt was good friends with both of them, and needless to say, he's shattered. 

"He is devastated and in shock," a source tells E! News exclusively. "He is trying to process the loss of two great friends. This has hit him very hard."

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The insider adds, "With Brad Grey, Brad Pitt was one of the few people who knew he was sick. Grey was told he had a few weeks to live, but he didn't even get that long. He was gone way too soon."

Cornell, on the other hand, was found dead in his hotel room at the MGM Grand Hotel in Detroit Wednesday with a band around his neck. Detroit police said there is no knowledge of a suicide note or whether drugs/alcohol were found at the scene. The cause of death is still under investigation.

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Meanwhile, Pitt goes back quite a ways with the rocker. Not only have they spent time with one another's families—Zahara attended Cornell's daughter Toni's sixth birthday in 2010—they've also supported each other often over the years.

"I'm a big Chris Cornell addict, anything he does," Pitt told Cinema Confidential in 2004 when asked about his favorite music.

Most recently, the friends reunited when Pitt joined Cornell and fellow rocker Sting onstage at the ROCK4EB! charity event in January, which was held at a private home in Malibu.

The musicians performed The Police's 1983 hit "Every Breath You Take" as well as Soundgarden's 1994 hit "Black Hole Sun."

Brad told the crowd, "I get to introduce a very, very good friend of mine and someone I've known for quite a while, and I'm a huge fan of, Mr. Chris Cornell."

Cornell is survived by and his wife, Vicky Karayiannis, their kids Toni, 12, and Christopher, 11 and his daughter Lillian, who is almost 17, from a previous marriage.

Our thoughts are with his family and friends at this time.