Actor Scott Eastwood has spoken candidly about the death of his former girlfriend, Jewel Brangman, who died in a car accident in 2014. Eastwood shared details of the incident and his subsequent grief during a recent appearance on the "Armchair Expert" podcast with Dax Shepard and Monica Padman.
Eastwood, the son of filmmaker Clint Eastwood, described Brangman as someone he was with for approximately three to four years. He explained that Brangman's death was linked to a recall on the vehicle's airbag. "She was essentially shot by the airbag," Eastwood stated, suggesting that what might have been a survivable minor collision was made fatal by the airbag's malfunction.
At the time of Brangman's death, Eastwood was on a film set. He recounted receiving the news during a filming day and described his immediate reaction as a defense mechanism to compartmentalize his emotions. "You can't fly home" when working on set, he said, noting the difficulty of continuing work in such circumstances. He compared the experience to a previous loss, that of his friend Paul Walker, who also died in a car crash. "When you’re on a film set, you don’t have time to grieve because the show must go on," Eastwood said.
Eastwood later reflected on the impact of not being able to grieve immediately. "I grieved later, and that’s not a great thing," he admitted. "I think you do want to grieve with the people that are around that you did know that were a part of their lives, as well. I think that’s an important part of the grieving process."
He had previously discussed Brangman's death with GQ Australia in 2016, sharing more graphic details about the airbag's role. "The fucked up thing is, it was a fender bender, and there was a recall on airbags. Her airbag exploded. It shot a projectile through her body," he told the outlet. "It split her spine, and um... I’ve never told anybody that."