Regina King gives her first interview two years after the death of her son, Ian.
While sitting with Robin Roberts on Good Morning America, King first spoke about her latest role in the upcoming biopic “Shirley” based on Chisholm’s presidential campaign and how she prepared herself to play such an impactful role.
“It’s been 15 years since we were going to share Shirley’s story,” King said. “I think 15 years ago I wasn’t ready to play Shirley. I may have thought that I was then, but I wasn’t ready. I needed to live more life.”
The movie will take place in 1972, when Chisholm became the first Black woman to run for president. “We felt like there were so many people who did not know who Shirley Chisholm is, who she was, and that bugged us, ” the actress said. “When you’re a first when you are set out to do something that no one else has done before and there’s no example of that for you, that’s a lonely road to travel.”
In speaking about the new role, the conversation shifted to King’s late son, Ian, who passed away by suicide two years ago. King dedicated the film to Ian and opened up about what these later two years have been like for her. “I’m a different person now than I was January 19th [2022],” she said before speaking about her grieving process.
“Grief is a journey,” she added. “I understand that grief is love that has no place to go. I know that it’s important to me to honor Ian and the totality of who he is.” King said that she speaks about her son in the present because he is always with her.
Although she said that Ian gave her and their loved ones joy and happiness, Ian struggled with his mental health. “When it comes to depression, people expect it to look a certain way and they expect it to look heavy.”
King added that her experience in dealing with Ian’s choice that he “no longer wanted to be here” is something that she respects and understands. Regina King admitted that she was angry with God for having Ian carry that weight of depression and the other mental health issues that he was going through. However, she reveals that her favorite thing about herself is being “Ian’s mom.”
Watch the entire interview below.