Regina King Breaks Silence On Son’s Death In New TV Interview
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Regina King appeared on Good Morning America on Wednesday (Mar. 13) for her first televised interview in two years following the death of her son, Ian Alexander Jr..
The Oscar winner spoke on how she honors her child, but said she’s “a different person now.”
King explained, “Grief is a journey, you know. I understand that grief is love that has no place to go. I know that it’s important to me to honor Ian in the totality of who he is, speak about him in the present, because he is always with me and the joy and happiness that he gave all of us.”
The 53-year-old opened up about how depression shows up differently and revealed that she respects and understands her son’s choice.
“When it comes to depression, people expect it to look a certain way — they expect it to look heavy,” King expressed. “To have to experience this and not be able to have the time to just sit with Ian’s choice, which I respect and understand… He didn’t want to be here anymore, and that’s a hard thing for other people to receive because they did not live our experience, did not live Ian’s journey.”
Alexander Jr., a musician and DJ, died on January 21, 2022 via suicide, just days after his 26th birthday.
King became emotional, tearfully confessing that she “was so angry with God” during the early stages of her grieving process.
The Shirley actress continued, “Why would that weight be given to Ian? Of all of the things that we had gone through — therapy, psychiatrists, programs — and Ian was like, ‘I’m tired of talking, Mom.’”
King shared, “Sometimes, a lot of guilt comes over me. When a parent loses a child, you still wonder, ‘What could I have done so that wouldn’t have happened?’ I know that I share this grief with everyone, but no one else is Ian’s mom, you know? Only me. So it’s mine. And the sadness will never go away. It will always be with me.”
Watch her full sit-down with Robin Roberts above.
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