Royce Keys Opens Up About Brother’s Death In Gun Violence And Survivor’s Guilt

WWE Superstar Royce Keys delivered one of the most emotional interviews of his career during an appearance on “What Do You Wanna Talk About?” with Stephanie McMahon. In a powerful segment, Keys spoke candidly about growing up around constant gun violence and losing his brother, who was shot and killed.

Keys described the environment he grew up in as relentless.

“It was like consistently, like, every night you would hear guns going off,” he said. “You hear about people getting shot.”

He explained that East Palo Alto, where he is from, was once labeled the murder capital of the United States. The violence was not distant or abstract. It was personal.

“I’ve had a tons of friends that have died, family,” Keys shared. “You either gonna get involved in this or you’re gonna end up in the penitentiary.”

The most devastating loss was his brother.

“My brother was a big drug dealer, lost his life,” Keys said quietly.

He then revealed the painful detail that continues to haunt him.

“He lost his life saving you?” Stephanie asked.

“Yeah,” Keys confirmed.

Keys described replaying that moment in his mind, struggling with survivor’s guilt.

“To see somebody laying there just gasping for air and just, the blood just coming out of him,” he said. “You don’t know what to feel.”

He admitted that for years he questioned why he was still here.

“I just think about it like, maybe if I maybe would’ve pushed him out the way, maybe he’s better off here than me.”

Keys made it clear that intellectually he understands it was not his fault, but emotionally the weight remains.

“I know none of it was my fault. But it still eats me up at times.”

He connected those experiences to the way he approaches life and his career today.

“There’s no plan B,” Keys said. “It’s either you gonna do it or not. You gonna sink or swim.”

Keys also spoke about why he now chooses to openly share his story, including being shot himself and witnessing violence firsthand.

“I know there’s somebody out there in this big world that if I tell them my story, it could help them,” he explained.

The interview was not just about hardship. It was about resilience. Keys credited his grandmother’s strength and unconditional love for keeping him on a different path.

“If it wasn’t for my grandmother, I would probably be in one of those two places,” he said, referencing prison or death.

For Keys, surviving that environment and losing his brother has shaped the urgency behind his WWE ambitions.

“I wanna become a champion. I wanna become a legend. I want to be in the Hall of Fame,” he said earlier in the conversation. “This isn’t a one off.”

The story is not just about tragedy. It is about perspective. Keys made it clear that everything he endured fuels him now.

“Everything that’s happened to me… all that has shaped me to be here.”

In sharing such deeply personal memories, Keys offered a rare look into the reality behind the character seen on WWE programming. It is a reminder that for some performers, the battles inside the ring are far easier than the ones they have already survived outside of it.