Octavia Spencer revealed that her nephew has died as she detailed the “terrifying” grief she’s faced since finding out about the heartbreaking news. The actress, who is best known for her roles in movies such as The Help, Hidden Figures, and The Witches, expressed her sorrow in a moving social media post while continuing to come to terms with the loss of “the first of the next generation of us.”
The 52-year-old shared a photograph displaying a vase of flowers to her 1.5 million followers as she started the caption with the word “Grief.” Octavia continued, “You wouldn’t know it by this picture that today was the second-worst day of my life,’ she wrote. My family lost the first of the next generation of us, and we’re gutted. Grief is the most terrifying of emotions because I can’t laugh my way out of it. I have to feel. Right now, I’m feeling for my sister who lost her only son. Her only child.”
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The Oscar award-winning star went on to plead with her followers to pray for her family — her sister, in particular — and brother-in-law as they slowly come to terms with the devastating demise of their son. Octavia, who has two sisters, refrained from mentioning which sibling she was referring to in her post, having also chosen to disable the comment section.
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This isn’t the first time the Alabama native has had to deal with a family tragedy after losing her father at the age of 13. In 1988, the same year she would go on to graduate from high school, Octavia ended up losing her mother, Dellsena, having lost both of her parents before even being of age.
Back in September, Octavia had found herself in hot water with Britney Spears’ fans on social media after joking that the pop star should sign a prenup before marrying her fiancé Sam Asghari — a statement she made soon after news broke that Brit and her beau were engaged.
After being met with a heap of backlash, she took the matter into her own hands by posting a photo of the doting couple on her Instagram, along with the caption, “Y’all, a few days ago Sam and Britney announced their engagement and me being me I made a joke. My intention was to make them laugh, not cause pain.”
“I’ve reached out to this lovely couple privately to apologize and now want to restore just a smidge of happiness they were robbed of. Britney’s fans have seen her through a lot of pain and she’s found happiness. We’re thrilled for her. So let’s show them love.”