Regina King spent New Year’s Eve smiling and toasting with her son Ian during

Regina King spent New Year’s Eve with her late son Ian Alexander Jr. just weeks before he killed himself and he even made a brief cameo during the actress’s light-hearted interview with CNN‘s Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen before the ball dropped. 

Ian committed suicide on Wednesday, which was his 26th birthday. No further details have been released. 

The Oscar and Emmy winner was joined by her son and a man named Brandon, whom she called her ‘bonus son,’ in a virtual appearance on Cooper and Cohen’s New Year’s Eve show.

The three appeared to be in good spirits, toasting one another, during a large family gathering for the holiday 

‘Twenty years, we’re all together, this whole family of people are together because of these two [Ian and Brandon] and their lives together that brought us together. And we drink in the spirit of inclusivity too,’ King said.

‘And progress,’ son Ian added.

Ian continues to be seen throughout the remainder of the interview smiling and drinking while mother Regina discusses career highlights, toasts with sister Reina King and goes one-on-one with actress Jackee Harry.  

Regina King appeared with son Ian Alexander Jr. (right) and her ‘bonus son’ Brandon on New Year’s Eve for a CNN special

King, Ian and Brandon all shared a toast with CNN’s Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen

Early on in the interview, Cohen and Cooper ask King what her New Year’s resolution is. 

The four-time Emmy winner strikes a bit of a melancholy note but hopes for progress in the coming year and inclusivity.  

‘New Year’s resolutions don’t always work out for me, so I tend to take the time, like a lot of us do to just kinda reflect about the things that really hit me. That really stuck with me throughout the year,’ she said.

‘One of the things this past two years that sat with me is inclusivity,’ she added. ‘All we’ve been through for the past two years, just how different we all are, but the one thing we have in common is we all want to be seen and when we are all included, things are better.’

King then jokes that ‘things drink better’ to which son Ian jovially raises his glass of Diageo, a London-based beverage company that Alexander notes operates ‘in the spirit of progress.’  

Alexander Jr. saluted his mother on her birthday back in January of 2021

The actress then toasts a glass of what she appears to suggest is a Don Julio 1942, which is made by Diageo.  

Ian doesn’t appear much for the remainder of the interview, which features a reunion between King and her former 227 co-star Harry, though Jackee does tell King to ‘kiss Ian for me.’ 

The actress has stayed out of the spotlight since the tragedy. 

King’s spokesman confirmed her son’s death in a statement Saturday, reading: ‘Our family is devastated at the deepest level by the loss of Ian.’

‘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.’ 

Haunting last messages posted to Twitter in the days ahead of Ian Alexander Jr.’s death reveal Regina King’s only child felt he was ‘losing his s**t.’

‘You know that episode of SpongeBob where they go inside his brain and it’s a bunch of mini spongebobs just losing their s**t…..yea that one really hits home,’ Ian tweeted five days before his took his life.

The DJ – who performed under the stage name desduné – added, in a separate message: ‘I don’t think instagram is healthy for me.’   

Haunting last messages posted to Twitter in the days ahead of Ian Alexander Jr.’s death reveal Regina King’s only son felt he was ‘losing his s**t’ (Ian and Regina are pictured together in 2019) 

Five days before his death, Ian took to Twitter comparing his mental state to that of seemingly distressed cartoon character Spongebob Squarepants

Ian’s last Instagram post, published three days ago, was more positive and promoted his upcoming show. He also predicted his career was about to ‘blow up.’

‘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.    

Ian was an artist and DJ who performed under the stage name desduné. The musician had a show scheduled on Friday in Los Angeles and had promoted the performance on his Instagram account four days ago. 

The 26-year-old was also a celebrity chef, telling Flaunt Magazine last May he aspired to open his own restaurant within in the next three years. 

King, 51, shared Ian with her former husband, record producer Ian Alexander Sr. The two divorced in 2007 after 10 years of marriage. The actress and her son are said to have been incredibly close with him often accompanying her to red carpet events. 

Ian’s last Instagram post (pictured), published three days ago, was more positive and promoted his upcoming show. He also predicted his career was about to ‘blow up’

In addition to his…