Jimmy Kimmel And Regina King shared a touching moment together during Thursday night Jimmy Kimmel Live. The Oscar-winning actress appeared as a guest on the late night show, where she promoted her new film Shirley.
And while there was no direct mention of King's late son, Ian Jr., who died of a reported suicide in January 2022, it was clear his loss was felt.
'It's very good to see you. How are you? straight away?” Kimmel asked with a sharp emphasis.
“I'm fine right now,” King replied, smiling.
“Good, I'm glad to hear that,” a visibly emotional Kimmel replied, fighting back tears. “I know you've been through a lot this past year.”
Picking up on the host's emotions, King reached out and held Kimmel's hand.
“It's good to see you, Jimmy,” she said.
Kimmel struggled for words before landing, “Um, have you seen William Shatner backstage?” which prompted King to laugh.
The rest of the interview didn't include any mention of the actress's late son, but she's spoken about him several times lately as she's back in the public eye.
Ian Alexander Jr. was the only child of King and her ex-husband, producer, Ian Alexander. The exes married in 1997 and were together for ten years before divorcing. According to multiple reports, Ian Jr. soon died by suicide after celebrating his 26th birthday in 2022.
Earlier this month she spoke with Robin Roberts on Good morning Americain which she reflects on what life has been like for her since the death of her 26-year-old son.
“I am a different person now than I was on January 19,” King said at the time. “Grief is a journey, you know?”
“I understand that grief is love where you can't go,” King said, “and that we all deal with it differently.”
“I know it's important for me to honor Ian and the totality of who he is,” King further said GMA. She noted that she prefers “to talk about him in the present because he is always with me.”
King also opened up about her child's mental health struggles.
“When it comes to depression, people expect it to look a certain way and it looks hard,” she said, pausing to collect herself.
King continued: “To have to go through this and not have the time to just reflect on Ian's choice, which I respect and understand, that he didn't want to be here anymore – that's hard for people to accept. because they have not lived our experience. They haven't lived Ian's journey.'
The actress admitted she was “so angry at God” for putting “that weight” of depression on Ian.
“All the things we went through, the therapy, psychiatrists and programs and he, Ian, just said, 'I'm tired of talking, Mom,'” she recalled. “My favorite thing about myself is that I'm Ian's mother and I can't say that with a smile, with tears, with all the emotions that come with it, if I don't respect the journey, I can't do that.”
“When a parent loses a child, you still wonder what I could have done so this wouldn't have happened,” she admitted. 'I know I share this sadness with everyone, but no one else is Ian's mother. Only me. And so it's mine and the sadness will never go away. It will always be with me, and I think somewhere I saw' The sadness reminds me how much he means to me. ''
ET spoke with King earlier this month about her son's stamp on her upcoming film, Shirley, a biopic about the first black female congresswoman, Shirley Chisholm.
“We came here with him, he's part of it,” King said of her son. “He's here, he discussed the whole thing.”
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741, or visit suicidepreventionlifeline.org.
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