Jennifer Hudson Wishes Her Late Brother Jason a ‘Happy Heavenly Birthday’

“He was always the biggest basketball fan so #NBA All-Star weekend has become my birthday celebration for him,” she said

Jennifer Hudson is sending birthday wishes to her late brother Jason Hudson.

The daytime talk show host, 42, remembered Jason on what would have been his 45th birthday with a nostalgic post on X (formerly known as Twitter).

In the post, she shared two photos of Jason. One image showed him smiling at the camera while wearing a black T-shirt and a black leather jacket. A second showed him wearing a “Detroit” jacket and while he ate some food.

“My brother Jason would have turned 45 today!” Jennifer wrote. “He was always the biggest basketball fan so #NBA All-Star weekend has become my birthday celebration for him! Happy heavenly birthday, Jason!!”

Jason Hudson.

The post comes after Jennifer revealed on The Jennifer Hudson Show in late January that she would be playing in the NBA All-Star Celebrity Game in honor of her brother.

Jason was murdered alongside her mother Darnell Donerson and 7-year-old nephew Julian King in October 2008, in the Englewood neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side. Jennifer’s former brother-in-law, William Balfour, was convicted of the murders and is currently serving a life sentence in prison.

“His birthday was February 17th and he was big on basketball too,” Jennifer said of Jason. “So that makes me a huge basketball fan and in honor of him I always make a point to celebrate his birthday that way.”

Jason Hudson.

She went on to announce that she was “invited to play on the NBA All-Star Basketball Team” and would work hard to make her brother and son, David Daniel, 14, proud.

“You see I’m tall enough, right? I’ve been under my kid’s direction, I’m going into training and everything,” Jennifer said. “I’m calling everybody because I’ve got to make the son proud ’cause I can’t get out there and don’t know what I’m doing.”

She added that she was taking the game very seriously and had even called professional basketball coach and former player Derek Fisher for some tips. She also showed that she got an early jump on training with NBA shooting coach Chris “Lethal Shooter” Matthews.

“Overall, I cannot shame these kids and I want to make my brother proud on his heavenly birthday,” Jennifer shared. “And after I become the MVP certified celebrity MVP I’m gonna come back and tell y’all all about it.”