Regina King pays tribute to her late son Ian Alexander Jr. nearly one year after his tragic death

Thursday marked almost a year since Regina King’s son, Ian Alexander Jr., Tragically passed away. In a heartfelt Instagram post, she honored his life and legacy.

As a tribute to Ian, a lit candle inside an orange paper lantern soared gracefully into the sky, as captured by King, 52, in a brief video.

It was recorded on January 19th to commemorate his 27th birthday, even though she posted the video shortly before the date of his passing.

Despite the seemingly solemn event, the lantern drifted towards a massive tree in the distance while the King’s relatives could be heard enthusiastically cheering on the mobile spectacle in the backdrop.

King expressed in her caption, “We are all in various locations on the globe…So is Ian. His essence is the string that links us,” as we commemorate his existence and continue to cope with his bodily nonexistence. Ian’s Worthday falls on January 19th.

She observed that the sky lantern had an orange hue because it was his ‘preferred shade,’ symbolizing ‘the warmth and serenity.’

She mentioned that her son would also be accompanying her.

The Oscar-winning actress wrote, “I see everything in you, I breath. Being myself is my absolute favorite thing, especially being Regina, the mother of Ian, the GodKing. My bright light guides me to continue shining 🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡.”

Octavia Spencer shared a series of praying hands, while Tracee Ellis Ross and Holly Robinson Peete expressed their support by commenting with orange hearts, along with several of King’s friends.

According to filmmaker Ava DuVernay, Roisin Kelly stated, “Next time, I will personally decide whom I will approach and claim as my own, just like how I might stand at a fruit stand and intentionally disregard the apples, mangoes, and kiwis. Instead, I will hover my hands over a stack of oranges as if to soak up their warmth, similar to standing before a blazing fire.”

The post on Thursday signaled King’s comeback to Instagram after a period of not posting anything since just before Ian’s tragic passing.

From 1997 to 2007, the music producer Ian Alexander Jr., Whom she was married to, co-parented her son with her former spouse, the actress from If Beale Street Could Talk.

Shortly after his father’s death, Ian Jr., A flourishing DJ, released a new track, continuing his own successful career and honoring his father’s love for music.

Days before his death, he shared a final Twitter post in which he wrote, ‘I don’t think instagram is healthy for me.’.

King previously talked about the happiness and strength of being a solo parent as she brought up her son.

She expressed, ‘When you go through it, it’s the utmost satisfying [entity] ever.’ ‘You might assert that you comprehend, but without offspring, you lack comprehension of that,’ she stated. ‘You lack understanding of the concept of unconditioned affection.

As reported by People, her tattoo adorned her arm while Ian’s tattoo was located on his shoulder. They both had matching tattoos in Aramaic that said ‘unconditional love,’ symbolically uniting her and her son in a lifelong bond.

If you or someone you care about requires assistance, contact the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-8255.