David Bowie's daughter has launched a scathing public attack on her close friends for failing to acknowledge the emotional significance of what would have been her late father's 79th birthday.
A Painful Anniversary Ignored
Alexandria 'Lexi' Zahra Jones, 24, took to Instagram to vent her frustration after receiving just one message of support from her personal circle. The date marked not only the music icon's birthday but also fell close to the tenth anniversary of his death on 10 January 2016.
Bowie passed away at his New York City home, which he shared with his wife, supermodel Iman, and their daughter Lexi. His death followed a secret 18-month battle with liver cancer, occurring just two days after he turned 69.
In a selfie posted to her followers, Lexi wrote: "Thank you to all the people I don't know who wished me condolences, and f**k you to all of my friends who never texted me at all." She added pointedly: "I got 1 text! F**k all y'all."
Earlier on the day, she had posted a touching tribute to her father, sharing a throwback photo with the caption: "Da big 79 today. Happy birthday pops, miss ya!" Both she and her mother Iman received an outpouring of sympathetic responses from fans online.
A Year of Personal Revelation
The incident comes only months after Lexi, an artist, publicly disclosed that she had received a formal diagnosis of autism and ADHD after a "long and exhausting journey".
She first shared her diagnosis in June, explaining that it brought her "clarity and relief" after years of unknowingly masking her neurodivergence. In a detailed Instagram post, she described spending thousands of dollars seeking professional help before being diagnosed by a specialist.
"Autism does not have one look, one voice, or one way of showing up," she wrote. "It comes in many forms, and a lot of us learn to hide it without even realising we are doing it."
She highlighted that it is common for women and people socialised as female to be diagnosed later in life, as they are often conditioned to mask and mirror neurotypical behaviours.
The Exhaustion of "Masking"
Alongside her post, Lexi shared a deeply personal essay titled 'The Quiet Effort: Neurodivergence through my lens'. In it, she candidly discussed a lifetime of feeling different and isolated.
She described 'masking' – the conscious or unconscious suppression of natural autistic traits to appear more neurotypical – as a draining performance. "I never really felt like I belonged anywhere, and it ultimately left me exhausted from masking," she penned.
Lexi admitted to becoming adept at blending in, but stressed it was a skill that required conscious construction and left her feeling overwhelmed, often leading to shutdowns or outbursts. She described her lack of a solid self-identity as a "sense of pain" that eroded her confidence.
"This diagnosis does not change who I am," she concluded, "but it gives me language, clarity, and relief. I am sharing this because I know I am not the only one." Her recent public disappointment with friends underscores the ongoing personal challenges she faces, even as she gains new understanding of herself.
