Current:Home > MyRegina King reflects on her son's death in emotional interview: 'Grief is a journey' -FinanceCore
Regina King reflects on her son's death in emotional interview: 'Grief is a journey'
View
Date:2025-04-13 13:58:38
Regina King is sharing her reflections on grief in her first television interview since the death of her son.
In a conversation that aired Thursday on "Good Morning America," the Oscar-winning "If Beale Street Could Talk" star, 53, said she has not been the same since her son Ian Alexander Jr. died by suicide in January 2022. He was 26.
"I'm a different person now than I was Jan. 19," she said. "Grief is a journey. I understand that grief is love that has no place to go."
King shared Alexander, her only child, with her ex-husband Ian Alexander Sr. In a statement to USA TODAY after his death, the actress said her family was "devastated at the deepest level" and remembered Alexander as "such a bright light who cared so deeply about the happiness of others."
Speaking with "GMA," King shared that she sometimes feels "a lot of guilt" about Alexander's death, as "when a parent loses a child, you still wonder, what could I have done so that that wouldn't have happened?" She also said she initially felt "so angry with God," asking herself, "Why would that weight be given to Ian?"
But King grew emotional as she said she now understands Alexander's "choice" that "he didn't want to be here anymore," which is a "hard thing for other people to receive because they did not live our experience." Alexander struggled with depression, which people expect "to look a certain way," King said.
King attended the Academy Awards on Sunday, one of her first major public appearances since 2022, and spoke alongside her fellow best supporting actress Oscar winners. She told "GMA" that attending such events, where Alexander would often accompany her, can be a trigger.
"Sometimes it'll trigger laughter," she said. "Most times, as of recent, it triggers a smile. But sometimes his absence is really loud."
King returns in front of the camera in "Shirley," a biopic about the first Black woman elected to serve in Congress, Shirley Chisholm. It's her first movie role since 2021, and the film, which hits Netflix on March 22, is dedicated to Alexander. She told "GMA" it's important for her to "honor Ian in the totality of who he is," adding that she speaks about him in the present tense "because he is always with me."
King previously shared a tribute to Alexander on Instagram in January 2023 after remaining largely out of the public eye in the year since his death. She wrote at the time, "His spirit is the thread that connects us. Of course orange is your favorite color…Its the fire and the calm. I see you in everything I breathe."
If you or someone you know needs mental health resources and support, please call, text, or chat with the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline or visit 988lifeline.org for 24/7 access to free and confidential services.
If you'd like to share your thoughts on grief with USA TODAY for possible use in a future story, please take this survey here.
Contributing: Elise Brisco, USA TODAY
veryGood! (45415)
Related
- Meta donates $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund
- The Dominion Lawsuit Pulls Back The Curtain On Fox News. It's Not Pretty.
- Inside Clean Energy: How Norway Shot to No. 1 in EVs
- Yeti recalls coolers and gear cases due to magnet ingestion hazard
- 'Kraven the Hunter' spoilers! Let's dig into that twisty ending, supervillain reveal
- Florida’s Red Tides Are Getting Worse and May Be Hard to Control Because of Climate Change
- Arkansas Gov. Sanders signs a law that makes it easier to employ children
- Consent farms enabled billions of illegal robocalls, feds say
- EU countries double down on a halt to Syrian asylum claims but will not yet send people back
- Taylor Swift Issues Plea to Fans Before Performing Dear John Ahead of Speak Now Re-Release
Ranking
- Mets have visions of grandeur, and a dynasty, with Juan Soto as major catalyst
- Over $30M worth of Funkos are being dumped
- Warming Trends: Americans’ Alarm Grows About Climate Change, a Plant-Based Diet Packs a Double Carbon Whammy, and Making Hay from Plastic India
- Finding Bright Spots in the Global Coral Reef Catastrophe
- Apple iOS 18.2: What to know about top features, including Genmoji, AI updates
- 5 DeSantis allies now control Disney World's special district. Here's what's next
- Killings of Environmental Advocates Around the World Hit a Record High in 2020
- Baltimore Continues Incinerating Trash, Despite Opposition from its New Mayor and City Council
Recommendation
'Most Whopper
Elon Musk apologizes after mocking laid-off Twitter employee with disability
In Three Predominantly Black North Birmingham Neighborhoods, Residents Live Inside an Environmental ‘Nightmare’
Two Areas in Rural Arizona Might Finally Gain Protection of Their Groundwater This Year
John Galliano out at Maison Margiela, capping year of fashion designer musical chairs
Requiem for a Pipeline: Keystone XL Transformed the Environmental Movement and Shifted the Debate over Energy and Climate
Credit Card Nation: How we went from record savings to record debt in just two years
USWNT soccer players to watch at the 2023 Women's World Cup as USA looks for third straight title
Like
- A Mississippi company is sentenced for mislabeling cheap seafood as premium local fish
- To Equitably Confront Climate Change, Cities Need to Include Public Health Agencies in Planning Adaptations
- In a Major Move Away From Fossil Fuels, General Motors Aims to Stop Selling Gasoline Cars and SUVs by 2035