Regina King acknowledges that her son’s suicide will always be painful, but she also respects his decision.

After her son committed suicide two years ago, actress and filmmaker Regina King said she is now a “different person” and sometimes still feels “guilty,” but she has learned to “respect and understand” his decision and is committed to respecting “the totality of who he is.”
In an interview that aired on “Good Morning America” on Thursday, King, 53, the Oscar-winning star of “If Beale Street Could Talk,” said, “I’m a different person, you know, now than I was Jan. 19.” “Bereavement is a path. I know that love without a place to go is sadness.

It was the first time she had spoken candidly on television about her son Ian Alexander Jr.’s suicide death in January 2022 at the age of 26.
King said to “GMA” anchor Robin Roberts, “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, the joy and happiness that he gave all of us.”
King said she respected her son’s decision despite his struggles with mental health.
“Depression is perceived as something that should look heavy and in a certain way,” according to King. “And people anticipate that they will have to go through this and not be able to take the time to simply accept Ian’s decision, which I respect and comprehend because, as you know, he no longer wants to be here.”
“It’s difficult for other people to accept, as they weren’t part of Ian’s journey or our experience,” she said.
However, it hasn’t always been simple to accept.
“Occasionally, a great deal of remorse overcomes me. “A parent who loses a child often wonders what they could have done to prevent it from happening,” the woman stated.
King remarked, “I was so angry with God — why would that weight be given to Ian?” immediately after the loss of her son.
“After everything we’d been through—therapy, programs, psychiatrists—Ian was just like, ‘I’m tired of talking, Mom,’” she went on.
Being Ian’s mother, according to King, is her favorite aspect of herself.
She said, “And if I did not respect the journey, I can’t say that with a smile, tears, and all of the emotions that come with that.”
“I am aware that everyone is grieving alongside me, but no one else is Ian’s mother. Me alone. That makes it mine, and I will always be upset about it. I’ll always have it with me,” she said.
King said that sometimes, she can still sense her son’s presence.
Sometimes it will simply make you giggle. As of late, it usually makes people grin. However, there are instances when his absence is really noticeable,” she said.
King and her former spouse, record producer Ian Alexander Sr., are parents to Ian, their only child.
According to King, she dedicated her most recent movie, “Shirley,” to her son. She also wore orange at Sunday’s Academy Awards event, which is Ian’s favorite color.
John Ridley’s film “Shirley,” which chronicles the life of Shirley Chisholm, the first Black woman elected to Congress, centers on her historic 1972 presidential campaign—the only one ever undertaken by a woman of color.
The movie will debut on Netflix on March 22 after opening in a few cinemas on Friday.

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