More details have emerged in the wake of Regina King’s son’s untimely death. The aspiring musician and only child of the Academy Award winner committed suicide last week, days after celebrating his 26th birthday.
A week before Ian Alexander Jr.’s death, the rising star took to his Twitter account, where he shared several posts reflecting on his toxic relationship with social media. “I don’t think Instagram is healthy for me,” Alexander Jr. wrote in one post on Friday, Jan. 14, five days before his birthday.
In another post, he wrote, “You know that episode of SpongeBob where they go inside his brain and it’s a bunch of mini spongebobs just losing their sh-t…..yea that one really hits home.”
A few days later, Alexander Jr., who went by the moniker Desduné, promoted an upcoming performance in Los Angeles for this Friday, Jan. 28. “Its been a minute but now we back at the jump off. Don’t you want to say you supported desduné before the blowup??” he wrote in the caption. He added, “So pullup this month!! performing live at Bardot on the 28th for @breakingsoundla Save a buck and buy tickets in advance at the link in my bio.”
King confirmed the heartbreaking news on Friday in a statement via her team; the “Watchmen” star said her family is “devastated at the deepest level by the loss of Ian.” She added, “He is such a bright light who cared so deeply about the happiness of others. Our family asks for respectful consideration during this private time. Thank you.”
Alexander Jr. was the only child of the 51-year-old actress whom she shared with her ex-husband and record producer Ian Alexander King Sr. described her son as “an amazing young man.”
Following her divorce from Alexander in 2007 after nine years of marriage, King opened up about the obstacles she faced as a single parent. However, the “The Harder They Fall” star said even that couldn’t overpower the “unconditional love” she had for her son.
“You don’t know what unconditional love is. You may say you do, but if you don’t have a child, you don’t know what that is,” she said at the time. “When you experience it, it’s the most fulfilling [thing] ever.”
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