Regina King and Jimmy Kimmel had a bittersweet moment Thursday night during their first interview together since the death of her son more than two years ago.
The Oscar-winning actress made an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and was greeted by the host, “It’s very good to see you. How are you doing right now?”
King responded with a smile, “Right now, I’m good.”
“Good, I’m glad to hear that,” Kimmel said as he attempted to hold back tears. “I know you’ve been through a lot the last year.”
Related Stories
The Shirley actress proceeded to reach over and take the host’s hand with a smile, adding, “Yeah, it’s good to see you, Jimmy.”
King‘s only child, Ian Alexander Jr., died by suicide in January 2022 at 26 years old. She shared Ian with her ex-husband, record producer Ian Alexander Sr.
Earlier this month, the If Beale Street Could Talk actress opened up about her son’s death in an interview with Robin Roberts for Good Morning America, sharing the “journey” she’s experienced as she grieves Ian.
“I’m a different person now than I was on Jan. 19 [before Ian died],” King said at the time. “Grief is a journey. I understand that grief is love that has no place to go. I know that 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 and the joy and happiness that he gave all of us.”
She added, “My favorite thing about myself is being Ian’s mom. And I can’t say that with a smile, with tears, with all of the emotion that comes with that. I can’t do that if I did not respect the journey.”
