Regina King breaks silence 2 years after son’s death by suicide

(Daily News) – Actress Regina King spoke for the first time Thursday on the loss of her only son, two years after he died by suicide.

Ian Alexander Jr., the only child of the Oscar winner, 53, and record producer Ian Alexander, had just turned 26 when he died in January 2022.

“When it comes to depression, people expect it to look a certain way,” King said on Thursday’s “Good Morning America,” her first interview since the tragedy. “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, that he didn’t want to be here anymore — that’s a hard thing for people to receive because they did not live our experience. They did not live Ian’s journey.”

The “If Beale Street Could Talk” star noted that she “was so angry with God.”

“You know, why would that weight be given to Ian?” she said. “With all of the things that we had gone through with the therapy, with psychiatrists and programs, and Ian was like, ‘I’m tired of talking, Mom.’”

King said she is now “a different person … than I was Jan. 19” and still wonders, “What could I have done so that wouldn’t have happened?”

King said she wants “to honor Ian in the totality of who he is,” which includes her choice to “speak about him in the present because he is always with me and the joy and happiness that he gave all of us.”

The year before his death, Ian shared a touching post to commemorate his “superhero” mom’s birthday.

“To have you as my mother is the greatest gift I could ask for,” he wrote in January 2021. “To be all that you are while always having the time to be there, love and support me unconditionally is truly remarkable.”

Following Ian’s death, King made her first public appearance on the red carpet — where she would often be joined by him —  at the Filming Italy Festival in June 2022. She is currently promoting the biopic “Shirley,” about Shirley Chisholm, America’s first Black congresswoman.