Actress Regina King is ending 2024 with a tribute to her late son

an actress Regina King says goodbye to 2024 with a touching tribute to his late son.

The Oscar-winning actress and flamboyant star of Netflix’s The Harder They Fall posted a special Instagram post this Christmas in honor of Ian Alexander Jr., King’s recording artist and only child.

Alexander, unfortunately, committed suicide in January 2022.

Using Alexander’s career as a music artist for inspiration, King shared seven of her favorite albums of the past year on the social media app.

In the caption of her Instagram post, the “Shirley” star explained that the number of albums had a special meaning for herself and her late son.

“As we close out the year, I’d like to share my seven favorite albums of 2024,” King wrote.

“Why 7?” – she continued. “Because seven is Ian’s favorite number and the number of completion is the perfect way to reflect on the highlights of the past year.”

Some of her picks recently included Kendrick Lamar’s GNX, Tyler the Creator’s Chromakopia, Willow Smith’s Empathogen, and the soundtrack to the biblical comedy The Book of Clarence.

King ended her post with a warm holiday greeting.

“I wish you and your families faith in faith, energy to create and love for a peaceful and joyful holiday. May this faith, love and joy come in the new year and beyond.”

On January 21, 2022, the entertainment world was rocked by the sudden death of King’s son, Ian Alexander Jr., who was just 26 years old.

Writers for I love B. Scottentertainment blog, was the first to break the sad news with a message that many felt was insensitiveespecially since King herself has not spoken out on the matter.

There was a backlash and the post was eventually removed.

A day later, King will release a statement confirmed the tragic news through her representative.

“Our family is deeply devastated by the loss of Ian,” the statement said.

“He is such a bright light who cared so much about the happiness of others. Our family asks for respect during this personal time.”

In addition to recording, Alexander worked as a disc jockey. He often performed under the pseudonym Desduné.

Less than two weeks before his death, he released his last single, “Green Eyes.”

After her loss, King took a two-year hiatus from the acting world.

She will slowly step back into the spotlight in early 2024 with Shirley, a Netflix production based on the life of the first black woman vice presidential candidate, Shirley Chisholm.

In an interview with Good Morning America that aired in March, King talked about losing Alexander and how it affected her going forward.

“I’m a different person now than I was on January 19,” she told Robin Roberts, giving the actual date of Ian’s death.

“I understand that grief is love that has nowhere to go. I know that it is important for me to honor John in all his fullness, to talk about him in the present, because he is always with me. The joy and happiness He has given us all.’

While time will allow her to come to terms with Ian’s choice, King admitted it wasn’t easy to do.

“I respect and understand that he didn’t want to be here anymore,” the actress shared, “and that’s hard for other people to understand because they haven’t been through our experience, (or) haven’t been through Ian’s journey.” I was so angry with God, why does John have so much weight?”

A week after she sat down on GMA, King visited “Jimmy Kimmel Live” to promote “Shirley.”

The talk show host, known for his wit and sarcasm, instead greeted the actress sweetly, asking her how she was feeling at the moment.

With a genuine smile, she replied, “I’m fine now.”

Kimmel then tried to acknowledge a rough year for King, but was killed along the way. This made the actress reach for his hand.

“Nice to see you, Jimmy,” she continued.

After a moment he replied, “I’m glad to see you too.”

Speaking to Roberts, King said she was tired of focusing on Ian’s death and instead wanted to celebrate the time she had with him.

“My favorite thing about myself is being Jan’s mom,” she said, continuing, “I know it’s important for me to honor Jan in all that he is, to talk about him in the present because he’s always with me. The joy and happiness he gave us all.”