Regina King Is Set For Her First Gig After Son's Passing

Regina King is getting back on the Hollywood saddle after taking a much-needed break to mourn the unfortunate passing of her beloved son Ian Alexander Jr.

The late offspring was Regina's only child and her best friend, who she shared with her ex-husband Ian Alexander Sr. 

Now, "The Harder They Fall" actress has resumed work with her first booking as a co-chair of the 2022 Met Gala alongside other A-Listers.

King is back with a bang as she joins the co-chair list for the upcoming Met Gala along with celebrity husband and wife Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively, according to MadameNoire.

Also on the chair is the creator of Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda. The high-profile event will be held in New York City on the first Monday of May, as it did before the coronavirus pandemic.

The featured exhibit for the upcoming event is In America: An Anthology of Fashion which follows the 2021 show presented by the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Arts titled In America: A Lexicon of Fashion.

The Met Gala ceremony has a unique theme each year, which sets the dress code for the event. New York Times' fashion director Vanessa Friedman confirmed that the theme for 2022 is Gilded Glamour.

The theme references Mark Twain's book "The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today" and the Gilded Age of 1870 to 1900. In Elle's coverage, they clarified that gilded does not necessarily mean golden.

Instead, the word refers to a thin covering of gold veneer. The outlet noted that Gilded Glamour speaks of the hypocrisy of that period.

The Gilded Age was when "the facade of wealth couldn’t hide immense income inequality, political upheaval, and post-Civil War racism."

Following impactful and swift industrialization, the generation of wealth by personalities including J.P. Morgan, Cornelius Vanderbilt, and John D. Rockefeller opposed the widespread socio-economic conflicts.

These factors and the end of the Reconstruction period contributed to the fact that many Black Americans were prevented from gaining financial traction.

The 2022 Met Gala will be spearheaded by Vogue's editor-in-chief Anna Wintour,  renowned fashion designer Tom Ford, and Instagram's head Adam Mosseri.

King and Ford are also on the list of filmmakers who will be honored with cinematic vignettes at the proposed exhibit.

The In America: An Anthology of Fashion display will be made available for review by all public members on May 7. 

After Ian Alexander Jr.'s passing to suicide on January 21, Vivica A. Fox gave a candid and emotional update about King's wellbeing.

In January, The Blast disclosed that Fox appeared on an episode of “Cocktails With Queens” to give an update on her friend's state. 

Fox emotionally recounted that she received a text informing her that the Oscar winner wanted to see her. They spent the night together, and she told viewers that King was okay.

The “Independence Day” actress broke down in tears, explaining that when she got the text, she immediately dropped everything to be with her "sister."

Fox touched on "The Boondocks" actress's resilience, saying, “She’s so strong. More than anything else, I’m glad I got to hug her, look into her eyes."

Being with the mourning mother took a toll on Fox, who admitted that the weekend she spent with her was absolutely one of the longest she has had.

Fox told the hosts on the virtual episode that the "Watchmen" actress asked her to inform everyone that she received their condolences. King also appreciates the outpouring of love for her, her son, and her family. 

The guest spoke on how the COVID-19 pandemic took a toll on people and put young ones in a dark spot. She advised people to be each other's keepers, saying:

“If y’all see any signs of someone being in distress or if someone reaches out to you that’s just maybe not having a good day, stop, take a moment to make sure they’re okay."

Fox touched on how proud she was to see that the community in Hollywood came through to support the African-American actress. 

The star concluded the interview with a message of hope, “we’ll get through this." She also posited that there needs to be more awareness around mental health.